Boston, “Cheers,’’ and Gustav Mahler

Hilarity ensues, much of it at Mahler’s expense. Rebecca feigns passion for Mahler in order to attract Mr. Gaines, a wealthy Mahler fanatic who hires German baritones to furnish evenings of Mahlerian entertainment. The show even features excerpts from Mahler’s tragic Songs on the Death of Children, which are duly interrupted by the outbursts of a bored and inebriated Rebecca.

That Mahler could serve as the unifying thread in a story line of one of the most popular prime-time programs in history makes abundantly clear his status as a modern cultural giant. Mahler’s searing melodies, staggering climaxes, and haunting lulls, along with his theatrical flair for humor and tragedy, captivate new admirers every year. And it’s fitting that the proof of Mahler’s latter-day relevance arrived courtesy of “Cheers,’’ a Boston institution.

That’s because the current wave of excitement about Mahler owes a big debt to this city. The 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death on May 18, 1911, has triggered concerts and other commemorative events worldwide. Locally, the BSO features two of his symphonies, the First and the Fifth, at Tanglewood this weekend. Last week, the Cambridge-based Mercury Orchestra performed Mahler’s Sixth, and last month, the New England Conservatory’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra brought Mahler’s Ninth on a tour across Eastern Europe.

But the roots of Boston’s relationship to Mahler’s posthumous success extend far back in time - well before this year’s concerts, and even before Sam Malone started flipping bottles at a Beacon Street bar.

Conductor and Massachusetts native Leonard Bernstein was Mahler’s most visible champion in the 20th century, introducing Mahler to millions. Bernstein’s interest in Mahler was deeply linked to Boston. We know Bernstein heard the BSO perform Mahler here before his own career took off; in a 1942 letter housed in the Library of Congress, Bernstein - then working out of a studio apartment on Huntington Avenue - told his mentor Aaron Copland that he had just heard some of Mahler’s music at Symphony Hall.