Conductor John Mauceri helps give "Tár" its authoritative authenticity

The dialogue in "Tár", Todd Field's film about a classical music conductor high level, rings true at every turn. From Cate Blanchett's lecture to Juilliard students to her discussion of the complexities of Mahler's Fifth, it's remarkably realistic.

Much of the credit goes to John Mauceri, who is credited onscreen as "Music Advisor filmmakers.” Mauceri conducted the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for 16 seasons, was a longtime colleague of Leonard Bernstein, and conducted concerts around the world.

When Field decided to write a film about a classical conductor, he called Mike Knobloch, president of music and publishing at NBC-Universal, for advice. Knobloch suggested he contact Mauceri, who has a long and enviable track record in classical music and film music.

"Todd wanted to ask me about being a conductor, what does it mean done, what we do, what happens behind the scenes," Mauceri tells Variety. "At one point I said, 'What's your favorite symphony?' said the Mahler Five. I had recently done the Mahler Fifth, I had talked about my learning process, what Mahler had written and why it was unique in Mahler's life because he does not reveal his internal history."< /p>

In the film, Blanchett's character prepares to record Mahler's famous symphony and is seen in rehearsing it with the Dresden Philharmonic. "Todd and I had a number of long conversations," Mauceri reports, while recommending his book, "Maestros and Their Music: The Art and Alchemy of Conducting."

Field relied on their multiple phone calls for numerous incidents in the final script, although Mauceri unaware that the filmmaker was planning to write about a female conductor. It wasn't until he was invited to a private premiere screening of "Tár" that he realized where Field was headed.

"Anecdotes of my life suddenly appeared," Mauceri says. "At one point, Cate started talking about Stravinsky, and she was literally quoting me," he adds with some astonishment. “I think the film is brave. There's a lot of real stuff in this story. It's not easy and it takes time. And he chose real musicians who are great actors.”

Mauceri was a protege of Leonard Bernstein (who Blanchett's character also claims to have been) and is fascinated by actor-director Bradley Cooper's upcoming biopic about the longtime music director of the New York Philharmonic. “It will be interesting to see Bradley Cooper direct Mahler Two,” he says.

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