By age 16, the author of this piquant memoir was dealing marijuana, bedding her instructors at a performing arts high school and studying the oboe. Later, her blossoming career as a freelance musician in New York introduced her to a classical music demimonde of cocaine parties and group sex that had her wondering why she 'got hired for so many of my gigs in bed'. "Mozart in the Jungle" is a biting critique of the conservatories that produce thousands of graduates each year to pursue a handful of jobs, the superstar conductors and soloists who lord it over orchestral peons and a fine arts establishment depicted as bloated and corrupt.
I expected so much out of this book, and was sorely disappointed. Reading it was like being caught in the middle of a personal vendetta, where you always have a feeling you're hearing a distorted version of only one side of the story. More of my thoughts on this title can be found on my blog at A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall.
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18 January, 2015:
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18 January, 2015:
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