Oboist and Journalist Blair Tindall Has Died, Aged 63

Tindall's famous 2005 memoir, "Mozart in the Jungle," was adapted for television in 2014

The freelance oboist and journalist Blair Tindall has passed away at the age of 63, on account of cardiovascular disease.

Tindall will be best remembered for her 2005 memoir, titled Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music. The book lifted the lid on aspects of the classical music lifestyle that sit outside public perception of the profession — such as the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse in the industry, and the often unsavory intersection of sex and employment.

"Sex and drugs are a show of exuberance in rock," Tindall told The Daily Telegraph in 2005. "In the world of classical music, they are more of an escape from a sense of confinement and depression."

"I did notice when I became involved in a relationship with someone in the business that my work picked up," she added. "You need all the friends you can get. The music world is very incestuous."

The memoir was hugely successful: in 2014 it was adapted into a television show starring Lola Kirke as a character modeled on Tindall and Gael García Bernal as the flamboyant conductor Rodrigo. The show received a rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and won a Golden Globe in 2016.

Born in 1960 in Chapel Hill, Tindall studied for her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Manhattan School of Music. As a freelancer, she appeared with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke's.

After retraining as a journalist at Stanford, Tindall wrote for a range of outlets, including The Contra Costa Times and The San Francisco Examiner. She was briefly married to Bill Nye (the "Science Guy"), though it later transpired that the marriage license had been invalid and the pair split just seven weeks later.

Tindall is survived by her fiancé, Chris Sattlberger.

Our condolences to Tindall's family, friends, and colleagues.