Spoiler Alert! Exploring the nearly unknown world of symphony orchestras, Amazon Studios’ Primetime Emmy–award winning show, Mozart in the Jungle, intertwines sex, drugs, lies, and Tchaikovsky. While most wouldn’t expect a fictional television show about classical music to excite its audience and pick up Golden Globes in the process, Mozart in the Jungle and its eccentric writing prove that a narrative of idiosyncratic subjects is possible and humanizing. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Lola Kirke, Malcolm McDowell, and Bernadette Peters, the cast is just as varied and interesting as the show itself. Now that the online release of the television web–series’ fourth season is only weeks away, Street will take you back through its highlights so you have just enough time to Mozart and chill.
The show looks at the world of classical music through the lenses of Hailey Ruteledge, a 26–year–old female oboist in New York City who questions her musical career as she has yet to catch her big break. All the while, the New York Symphony Orchestra is shaken up, as its previous maestro is replaced by a more eccentric, lively composer, Rodrigo De Souza. Rodrigo plans to take the orchestra in a more novel, unpredictable direction through his unorthodox composing methods.
In the first season, Hailey manages to find a secret audition for the New York Symphony Orchestra, only to arrive too late. Luckily, Rodrigo overhears her playing a little Mozart Concerto in C and immediately hires her, despite the opinion of those within the orchestra. Throughout the season, Hailey’s mistakes lead to her dismissal as an oboist and demotion to Rodrigo’s assistant. In the finale, however, she finds herself playing for the orchestra’s opening night, as a rival musician fails to show up.
In season two, we see Hailey attempting to prove her worth as an oboist, so she may move up from her substitute position. All the while, an impending strike from the musicians seems likely, as they “lawyer–up” to challenge the orchestra’s management for higher pay. Coupled with the New York Symphony Orchestra’s Latin American tour that solidifies the burgeoning romance between Hailey and Rodrigo, the season’s twist–and–turns will leave you wondering what the climax of such budding subplots will be.
Throughout season three, as the forthcoming anxieties with the financial state of the orchestra and personal lives of Hailey and Rodrigo coalesce, Hailey tours with an ensemble of a former lover in Italy and the New York Symphony Orchestra goes on strike. Simultaneously, Rodrigo chases after a soprano opera singer in Venice, Italy, running into Hailey in the process. Once the duo returns to New York, Rodrigo makes significant artistic sacrifices so the orchestra may return to playing and Hailey dabbles in composing with the help of Rodrigo.
From the season 4 trailer, I predict that the show will focus more on Hailey’s artistic possibilities as a maestro, along with a more concrete subplot regarding the now solidified relationship between her and Rodrigo. Just as always, however, we’re curious to see the ways in which this show will surprise us. After all, one of its creators, Roman Coppola, was a screenwriter for dynamic, whimsical films, such as Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom. You may or may not have an interest in classical music, but you will definitely enjoy the hilarious, relatable story in Mozart in the Jungle.
