Although the 2023 movie “Tar” starring Cate Blanchett is about the lies abusers tell themselves in constant attempts to justify their actions, the insight to the mind of a world renowned (fictional in this case) musician is exquisite.  Cate Blanchett (one of my favorite recurring actors featured in Wes Anderson productions) portrays conductor and top Juilliard School instructor Lydia Tar, and shares a first person perspective of how intense the world of high-end music culture really is.

The cinematography in the film is spectacular, creating a god-like image of Tar (see above) more than words could ever tell.  What strikes me most about the movie is the intimate demonstration of the immense passion conductors generate in leading an orchestra.  The title Maestro is a power trip not unlike felt by people called General, Doctor or Duke.

Her swagger reminds me of the Tom Cruise character Maverick in the “Top Gun” series… a real deal bad ass.

Ten years ago I was inspired to write a similar story (click here to read “The Drummer Who Trained Like an Athlete”) after seeing “Whiplash” starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons portraying an aspiring young drum student and master drum professor, respectively. Simmons character (Terence Fletcher) is dead-on simpatico with Cate Blanchett’s Lydia Tar. They are the best at what they do, with unmatchable intensity and talent that often pushes students to break. In contrast, “Whiplash” is focused on the student, and “Tar” the master.

Playing music at the highest level can turn your brain mad!

Living on the edge of creative genius is not for the faint of heart. Whatever acronym you choose… “walking with the devil” or “playing with fire”… there is price that comes with the pleasure.

Mozart certainly had a robust dark side; van Gogh chopped his own ear off; Michelango, Rothko, Tchaikovsky and so on… all nuts.

Mad, I tell you mad!

Over the past few years I have been fortunate to watch (and support) my daughter Sidney as she works to advance her flute playing to an elite level. Two weeks away from starting a new chapter at the DuPont School of Music in Delaware, she is well on her way. I will do my best to keep her on the “good” side of madness, although some days… I think it is too late. (Haha.)

I have witnessed many an audition, rehearsal, performance and always keep a keen on those involved. A music man to the core, I find it fascinating. Like in sports, once you step beyond the high school level team (or band in this case), the skill level and intensity escalates fast.

The first memorable event in this new advanced music world was watching Sidney walk into rehearsal with the New Westchester Symphony Orchestra and meeting Maestro Steven Huang. He directed her to her “chair”… fifth flute (dead last).

Perched quietly in the corner behind the cellos, I got my first real whiff of this exclusive world not defined by age, color, gender or looks…

Despite the array of colorful Crocs, wrinkled shirts, gray beards, and eclectic styles, these adult band “nerds” were like a motorcycle gang or a pack of wolves gathered in cave before a run.  At 18 years old (and the youngest in the room by far), it was now eat or be eaten for my flutist.

To her credit, she is still standing, and has her own biker jacket now… and wore it well at Mannes New School (click here to watch), Third Street Music School, and on stage at Carnegie Hall and other hallowed stages.

Every parent, partner and friend of a musician involved with orchestras need to watch movies like “Tar, “Whiplash” and the wonderfully entertaining series “Mozart in the Jungle” to best understand the environment our loved ones now live.

This is no longer Kansas.

 

The powerful last scene of “Tar” leaves us with a broken Lydia Tar character watching a young Leonard Bernstein from a worn VHS tape on a vintage black and white television. After his orchestra completes a piece, he says…

“Music is movement, always going somewhere, shifting, and changing, and flowing from one note to another. And that movement can tell us more about the way we feel than a million words can.

There is no limit to the different kinds of feelings music can make you have. And some of those feelings are so special, and so deep, that they can’t even be described in words.”

Godspeed child. Stay tuned Rancheleros….