Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a very good pilot, even to my informed and very critical ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2014
This is a very good pilot, even to my informed and very critical professional musician eyes. They did miles better than most films and shows about classical musicians, i.e. Mr. Hollands Opus, Music of the Heart (Ughhh!) and A Late Quartet (Christopher Walken trying to play the cello anyone? (shudder). I love Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, I love that they're writing something together, especially about sex and classical music. Classical music needs all of the cool points it can get, plus we really are a bunch of sluts (Joshua Bell included, but thats a story for another time). Other musicians reviews, that I've read, seem to be complaining about the fact that we're depicted as snobby, esthete, sluts but for the most part that's pretty accurate, at least in my experience. But please, boys, this could be a GREAT pilot and show if you do your research. Among other smaller oversights, one glaring oversight that drove me crazy, there's no such thing as a second cello in an orchestra, She's the second chair, not the second cello, the cellos do not split into two sections, only the violins do. I'm happy to overlook some inaccuracies, but dude that's just basic Music 101 stuff. Look at any program for any orchestra. If you're going to write about an orchestra, at least get the instrument sections right. I'm especially disappointed in you Roman Coppola, your great uncle Anton conducted the Tampa Opera until recently, I played under him as a second violinist (notice the lack of the word cellist), you should know better than this. You could literally hire any professional classical musician to look over that script before you shoot it, we're happy to take the job because most of us are super poor. As for the actors, no wonder the symphony got rid of Malcom MacDowell as a conductor, his fake conducting is horrifying, whats going on with those wrists, holy crap, that's the easiest "instrument" to fake (I do it every week with my youth orchestra... Badum Ching!) and he can't even do that. Here's hoping that Gael Garcia Bernal watches some video of Gustavo Dudamel and does better job. The actors are pretty good a faking their instruments, but if this is going to be a series they've got to take some lessons and get better, (Saffron Burrows, a little fake vibrato goes a long way) or better yet hire actors who are also musicians. So nice job guys, fix some of the musical oversights and lingo in the scripts and get some music lessons for your actors and I think this will be a fantastic show. Also, for the love of God, don't waste Bernadette Peters. She's such a talent, I was super excited to see her sing and then really sad when she didn't. I was like, Joshua Bell and Bernadette Peters, best show ever, oh wait, she's not singing in this. Boooo! Mozart in the Jungle, Boooooo! Okay this has been nagging me, I don't know if this review is necessarily helpful, but I'm glad I got it off of my chest.