Mozart in the Jungle 2014

Originally aired on February 6, 2014 it probably has some of the best music of a television series ever. Very upbeat high tempo shows.

A good series for 2 seasons and then
it got weird and disappeared. Why
do writers so often screw up a
good thing.

Good series, that included a few of the great musicians, like violinist Joshua Bell. Mark Blum, the veteran actor who played the union rep, died earlier this year, from Covid complications.

Lola Kirke, the love interest is probably the first actress I've seen in a leading role that giggles.


Significant small parts and cameos.

10. Nico Muhly
Muhly wrote “Marnie”, the Hitchcockian opera of season four, but he also wrote “Mozart” – the made-for-TV aria of the third season, which made his cameo all the more exciting.

9. Gustavo Dudamel
Fun fact! Maestro Rodrigo de Souza (Bernal) is actually based on real-life L.A. Philharmonic director Dudamel. So when he appeared as a stagehand trying to talk to de Souza in the season two premiere, it was the perfect meeting of minds.

8. Anton Coppola
Of course the conductor & composer enjoyed a cameo appearance on the show. Not only is he Francis Ford Coppola’s uncle, but he’s also the great uncle to Mozart in the Jungle producer Jason Schwartzman. All great connections aside, the man is also a revered musician who wrote the opera Sacco and Vanzetti, and conducted the premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men.

7. Jason Schwartzman
Schwartzman (Rushmore) also enjoyed a fun guest role in the series as an eccentric documentarian studying the transcendental power of music. His performance was a swaggering masterclass in quiet smugness, which is to say it was classic Schwartzman through and through. Meanwhile, Shwartzmann is no stranger to music, having produced a number of groovin’ tracks under his artist name Coconut Records.

6. Joshua Bell & Lang Lang
Bell shows up as a solo violinist during a New York Symphony concert in season one of the show. However, it’s his triumphant (and hilarious) return in season two which is perhaps the most memorable, in which Bell calls others out for their foot faults during what is supposed to be a friendly bowling match. The episode also includes popular Chinese concert pianist, Lang Lang.

5. Joan Jett
If you need proof of Mozart in the Jungle’s rock ‘n’ roll credentials, then look no further than the cameo role of Joan Jett during season four. She plays herself (of course) and is so badass that de Souza winds up giving her a piece of his collection – as you would do in the presence of such a queen.

4. Caroline Shaw
Shaw plays herself in a short cameo during the fourth season of the show, which is just as well. The composer, violinist, singer, and winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize is as much of a big deal as the show rightly celebrates her for being. The episode also includes a moment where Hailey (Lola Kirke) serenades the musical genius outside of her apartment.

Danny Glover
3. Danny Glover
American actor, film director, and political activist Danny Glover enjoyed a cameo in the third season of the series. Naturally he played the mayor of New York, because what other possible role could you give to the man who is the boss at everything he does?

2. Wallace Shawn
Having enjoyed a diverse set of roles in everything from The Princess Bride and Clueless to Gossip Girl and Mr. Robot, Shawn is America’s greatest living character actor. So it’s no surprise that he fit right in with Mozart in the Jungle’s wild & diverse set of characters during his recurring guest role as “world’s greatest pianist” Winslow.

1. Monica Bellucci
Let’s all be honest about this, Bellucci turns in the greatest performance of any guest star to have appeared on the show. As reclusive prima donna Alessandra, Bellucci is fiendishly difficult and brings some delectable volumes of drama to the show.

However, before you ask – no, that wasn’t Bellucci singing in the show. Grammy-award winning soprano Ana María Martínez is actually responsible for Alessandra’s singing voice (but that doesn’t detract from Bellucci’s jaw-dropping performance.)

0. Placido Domingo