Cate Blanchett found music mastery 'terrifying'

Cate Blanchett found it “absolutely terrifying” learning to conduct and play the piano for ‘Tar’.

The 53-year-old actress portrays orchestra conductor Lydia Tár in the upcoming film and needed to master the musical skills to look convincing on camera, and insisted it’s only right to find such a prospect daunting.

She said: “[It was] absolutely terrifying. But if you’re not risking being terrified, then you should probably hand the job over to somebody else.”

The Australian star relished the “complex” nature of the story and particularly enjoyed how her own perspective on the tale changed as she worked on the movie.

She told Total Film magazine: “The film is so much about what happens when people are having an approximate relationship to power, and not just the people who are making the decisions, but those are who are carrying out those decisions.

“It’s complex and that’s what I really love about the film, you end up somewhere completely unexpected.

“When I first read the ending I went, ‘That is so depressing’.

“And as I moved closer and closer towards it, I went, ‘This is the epiphany. This is the moment where the clouds part, and a new beginning happens.’ It’s so much about your perspective…”

Cate recently explained she feels the “tragedy” of her character is that her working practices are no longer deemed appropriate for the era.

She said: "For Lydia in this film the exultation of serving the music is all-consuming. How she gets results, and how she behaves to other people, is of secondary importance to her. However, that’s not something that is accepted today.

"She is the right person to do her job, but she is living at the wrong time. Therein lies the tragedy.”