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National Library News |
by Randall Ware,
Research and Information Services
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As part of our three-year exhibition plan to bridge the millennium with exhibitions about the past, the present and the future ("Impressions", described elsewhere in this issue is our tribute to the past), we will mount a major exhibition in the year 2000 that will celebrate the life and work of Oscar Peterson, the world famous jazz pianist, in the year of his 75th birthday.
The exhibition, based on Dr. Peterson’s musical archive which is held in the National Library, will trace the development of his career from his early days in Montreal to the present, in which he is one of the world’s most sought-after artists. The exhibition will include posters and programs, recordings, sheet music and other memorabilia. It will also include several maquettes and neon signs that Henry Birks & Sons graciously donated to the Library after their successful promotion, "This Is Where It’s At." Yamaha Canada will be supplying the most current technology for the audio/video portion of the exhibition.
Without the assistance of these players, the National Library would not be able to offer the interactive kind of exhibition we are designing to celebrate this great Canadian.
As the third and final millennial exhibition, in 2001, we shall look back in order to look ahead in our exhibition "How We Saw the Future." Based on newspapers, magazines, government publications and books from our collection, we shall look at how Canadians viewed the future at various times in our recent history. In particular, we shall look at our country at the end of the two world wars, as well as in 1967, the occasion of our centenary. Our research into the Canada’s past century suggests that we Canadians have had many different views of the future, according to both where we lived and how secure we felt. This fascinating subject promises to be revelatory, providing insight into how we got to where we are today, and thus a perspective on our own future.
For more information on the upcoming Oscar Peterson exhibition visit the following site at www.nlc-bnc.ca/microsite/peterson/index-e.htm