Everything that is wrong with „Mozart in the Jungle“, episode 10: „Opening Night“
Episode 10, “Opening Night”
(in Spanish)
1. Anna-Maria playing through the complete cadenza of her violin concerto in a non-public rehearsal would be something that the orchestra really would not like at all. That’s a waste of rehearsal time, as she doesn’t need the orchestra to practice her solo.
2. Couldn’t Rodrigo practice something else with the orchestra if Anna-Maria is a diva and rushes away? They surely don’t only play the Sibelius concerto, do they? That would be a rather short concert. And having a car personally pick up EVERY orchestra member in New York will cost more than even Simon Rattle earns in an evening. And again: Hailey would have to organize that, and it would completely stress her out. She wouldn’t have time pondering leaving with Lizzy.
3. “Rodrigo conducts the Sibelius Violin concerto” and the name of the soloist printed in small on the poster? That’s frankly ridiculous. Is Rodrigo really such a vain asshole?
4. Even if she was super-talented (which apparently she isn’t) it would be quite dangerous to have Hailey as the last-minute replacement for bitchy first oboe. She hasn’t rehearsed the piece at all! And she would not have practiced it as well…
5. Standing ovations for musicians just entering the stage? That’s unheard of…
6. And they’re really milking that applause as well!
7. The concert master playing the Sibelius concerto, one of the most demanding pieces in the whole repertoire, unprepared, on short notice, without practicing it at all….is just bullshit, complete bullshit. And Rodrigo again forgets to tune the violin that is handed to him. Probably his fingers have perfect pitch and always know how to change position to stay in tune, something that even Paganini wouldn’t have managed.
8. The orchestra is celebrating accompanying the Sibelius concerto as if they had just played all Mahler symphonies in one go. It’s a nice piece, but this reaction is just exaggerated. People would mostly be amazed about the concert master, who pulled off the biggest stunt of the century by playing the piece unprepared and perfectly. And what else did they play? I repeat: the Sibelius concerto is not enough to fill a program!
9. To add another insult Rodrigo is congratulating the piccolo player (Bob) profusely IN FRONT OF the soloist who is standing directly next to Bob. That’s really, really embarrassing and rude! I guess kissing Hailey must have confused him.
10. Even funnier is the fact that THERE IS NO PICCOLO FLUTE IN THE SIBELIUS VIOLIN CONCERTO!!!! Bob wouldn’t have been present at the performance at all, only as a spectator perhaps.
11. Maybe they are all just incredibly polite (or horny), but making such a fuss about how Hailey played second oboe so fantastically in a piece which mainly is an accompaniment for a solo violin is just a bit exaggerated.
And that ends the nitpicking for MOZART IN THE JUNGLE, first season!
Moritz Eggert
Komponist
