Poster Gael Garcia Bernal in 'Mozart in the Jungle'
Gael Garcia Bernal in 'Mozart in the Jungle'
Amazon

Where has classical music gone on mainstream TV?

Plácido Domingo, one of the greatest living celebrities of classical music, has just filmed a cameo for the forthcoming third season of Mozart in the Jungle. It's not just the old lions who are lining up to appear on the Amazon series: Nico Muhly, one of the world's most acclaimed young composers, will not only appear but will also compose a piece of music for a fictional opera about "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher.

The first two seasons of the series, which was inspired by the 2005 memoir of oboist Blair Tindall, featured IRL classical musicians including Gustavo Dudamel, Emanuel Ax, Lang Lang, and Joshua Bell alongside cast members Lola Kirke, Gael García Bernal, and Jason Schwartzman. At this point, the only way the show could go bigger would be to bring Mozart himself back as a hologram.

As the New York Times points out, some in the classical world are seeing the series as a rare throwback to an era when classical musicians had copious opportunities to gain exposure on mainstream television.

The preponderance of classical musicians in the inaugural class of honorees on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is testament to the importance of classical music to early TV and radio broadcasts: many of those musicians were familiar presences in America's living rooms.

Why has the balance shifted? One answer is that TV doesn't need classical music anymore. In its early days, TV was a radical new medium facing deep suspicion; by showcasing classical music, broadcasters could make the case for television as an educational medium, helping to overcome institutional resistance and parental reservations. (Music education generally was also more widely respected and relatively better-resourced.)

Another answer is that TV has become decentralized. From UHF to cable TV to digital streaming, major network broadcasts have become less and less central to Americans' viewing. While — as the Times points out — that technology has created opportunities for things like high-definition opera simulcasts, it's given mainstream TV less of a ceremonial quality.

(If you know you're one of only three networks live on Independence Day, you might be inclined to find an orchestra to play "William Tell." If you know you're one of a million, you might be more likely to take a chance on something unconventional. There will also be less pressure on you to maintain certain cultural traditions.)

It's telling that a streaming video service with no terrestrial broadcast whatsoever is now considered "mainstream" simply by dint of the power of its brand.

Of course, there's the larger issue of the shrinking footprint of classical music in popular culture generally — something that's given musicians even more incentive to hop on board with Mozart in the Jungle. The country is getting larger and more diverse, and TV is becoming more inclusive. Are classical music institutions keeping up?

All that said, there's no reason to think of Mozart in the Jungle as a fluke. Its success demonstrates the persistent fascination of classical music: its scale, its ceremony, the almost superhuman abilities of its finest performers, and of course its power to stir the emotions. Sure, Mozart in the Jungle is also about sex and drugs, but so is everything else — and even those who criticize Tindall's memoir have to admit that pop music doesn't have a monopoly on backstage shenanigans.

With Domingo showing up on the next season, classical fans are asking who will be the next musician to make a cameo. Maybe the more important question is, what will be the next Mozart in the Jungle?

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