Conductor John Mauceri Helps Give “Tár” Its Authoritative Authenticity

by Jon Burlingame

The dialogue in “Tár,” Todd Field’s movie about a high-profile classical-music conductor, 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.

A lot of the credit goes to John Mauceri, who is screen-credited as “music advisor to filmmakers.” Mauceri led the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for 16 seasons, was a longtime colleague of Leonard Bernstein, and has conducted concerts all over the world.

When Field decided to write a movie about a classical conductor, he called...