Bechtler's Music & Museum Season Kicks Off this Weekend

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art opened in 2010, but its programming follows a tradition rooted in the family that gave the building its name. The Music & Museum series highlights a marriage of mediums that existed in the Bechtlers' own home. As the 2014-15 season of the program begins this weekend, it’s hard to talk about what’s ahead without looking back.

Music & Museum events aren't limited to the museum itself. An April event was held at at the home of Stuart and Mandy Burri.

“The Bechtler family were not only patrons of the artists, but they were also friends and mentors,” says Christopher Lawing, the museum’s vice president for programming.  “They would have parties where they’d have artists present works and musicians. It was just a natural connection for us to present chamber music in the museum, and then also tie it back into the collection.”

Music & Museum events like Baroque to Modern: Music from the British Isles seem like a natural fit as the fine art exhibit British Invasion continues. The chamber music concerts incorporate works of art or lectures that relate the performance back to the museum’s exhibition or collection. “We want a strong connection between the music and the art, not just have music inside of a museum,” Lawing says.

But this series also takes attendees out of museum, and even out of uptown Charlotte. This weekend’s event, for instance, changes the backdrop to Frank Bragg’s Huntersville farm. Xiang Angelo Yu's violin stylings will give life to the works of Tomaso Vitali and Ma Sicong. The Living Room Concert, a component of the Music & Museum program, focuses on the original intent of chamber music, which was named for its setting.

Living Room Concerts offer an inimate concert experience.

“Sometimes, there can be disconnect between the music and the audience when you're playing on the big stage or in a symphony,” Lawing says. “There are lights where you can't see the audience. There's that emotional art of place that sometimes isn’t there. With chamber music how it was originally intended, they can feed off the audience that's sitting right there in front of them.”

This season’s events include titles like “Tribute to the Firebird” (tying into the new fifth anniversary of the The Firebird statue’s Charlotte residency) and “Chopin Salon.” Museum & Museum alternates between events at the Tryon St. museum and “some of Charlotte’s finest residences,” according to the program’s official description. With the Living Room Concerts, expect an immersive experience. Chamber-music enthusiasts count on this aspect.

“Some people insist on sitting behind the musicians and read the notes as they play them,” Lawing says. “They can follow along with the music. They can hear the breaths, and see the eyes and the cues. They can see how the musicians communicate. It can be very personal.”

You can check out a complete schedule of this Music & Museum season here.