Mozart in the Jungle

Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music

By: Blair Tindall

Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi

In the tradition of Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential and Gelsey Kirkland's Dancing on My Grave, Mozart in the Jungle delves into the lives of the musicians and conductors who inhabit the insular world of classical music.

In a book that inspired the Amazon original series starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Malcolm McDowell, oboist Blair Tindall recounts her decades-long professional career as a classical musician, from the recitals and Broadway orchestra performances to the secret life of musicians who survive hand to mouth in the backbiting New York classical music scene, trading sexual favors for plum jobs and assignments in orchestras across the city. Tindall and her fellow journeymen musicians often play drunk, high, or hopelessly hungover, live in decrepit apartments, and perform in hazardous conditions. These are working-class musicians who schlep across the city between low-paying gigs, without health-care benefits or retirement plans - a stark contrast to the rarefied experiences of overpaid classical musician superstars.

An incisive, no-holds-barred account, Mozart in the Jungle is the first true, behind-the-scenes look at what goes on backstage and in the Broadway pit.

©2005 Blair Tindall (P)2015 Audible Inc.

not easy to get through

This was a book club selection and that was the only reason I finished it.

Intriguing story, terrible narration

As an amateur musician, this is a really fun—and sometimes dramatic—peek behind the curtain of orchestral music. It’s different than the show, but still engaging.

Unfortunately, the narrator fails to deliver a compelling performance. Her drawn out pronunciation and odd smirking tone don’t suit the tone of the book. I eventually got tired enough of the narrator’s voice that I gave up.

Very interesting!

Kept my attention while doing mundane tasks and working out. It was extremely informational, which was fun and nice at times, and kind of boring at others. All and all a very well rounded book, that I'll suggest to friends interested in music.

Nothing like the television show ....

If you are expecting to hear a more detailed story of the television show (which I was because I'm hooked on the show), you will be seriously disappointed. That being said, this was an interesting book about what could be going on in your local symphonies, and makes you think and want to question how that big business is actually run. It made me look at my tickets and attendance at performances in the amazing venues open to me in Houston, and wonder if I could and should be doing more to keep the arts alive for future generations. If you never played an instrument or do not appreciate the hard work involved in perfecting a craft, you will probably not appreciate this book in the spirit in which it was written. It is a lot of facts and figures which can get boring at times, but there is a story line in there worth searching out. Well read, as always, Ms. R!

Odd mix

I am a professional composer and have been looking forward to reading this book for some time. Overall, I found the book to be an odd mix of caddy behind-the-scenes descriptions of debauchery and a history lesson of the modern classical age. While I could see that the writer was trying to draw that comparison between her life and the history of the institutions around her, it feels as if there are two different books crammed into one. The story is compelling, though. If you can get past the performance of this obnoxious reader, I think it is still worth listening to. The performance reads as if she's smiling through every sentence, not aware of the meaning of the words she's speaking. It would have been much more interesting to have the author read it. Also, if you're here from the TV show, you will find a similar spirit, but nothing close to the actual story of that spin-off.