Does 'Tár' tell us anything about Mahler's 5th Symphony?

Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 is having a moment — or more accurately, another moment. The 121-year-old work, by the sublimely neurotic Austrian composer, confused its first listeners, but later enjoyed a pop culture boost when its lovely Adagietto movement appeared in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film Death in Venice. Before that, the same music served as a luxurious dirge, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, at Robert Kennedy's funeral service in 1968. Now Mahler 5, as it's often called, is back in the spotlight as its darkest music haunts the Oscar favorite Tár. Todd Field's film is nominated for six Academy Awards, including best actress for Cate Blanchett's arresting performance as the fictional Lydia Tár — a Promethean conductor at the top of her game, who takes a symphonic-sized fall from grace.

Since its release last fall, has inspired a flurry of discourse from critics and real-life conductors, including,, and, questioning everything from the film's choice of a woman in the lead role to the accuracy of its arcane classical-world