Rare Books and Special Collections is delighted to host Petrushka and Beyond: An Exhibition of the H. Colin Slim Stravinsky Collection at UBC.
Petrushka and Beyond features a selection of items from UBC Library’s H. Colin Slim Stravinsky Collection including signed musical quotations, personal correspondence between Stravinsky and his acquaintances, a likeness of the composer, and a tracing of his right hand.
Dr. H Colin Slim is a renowned musicologist and Stravinsky scholar who holds a PhD in musicology from Harvard University. He first met Stravinsky while he was an undergraduate student at UBC and went on to become a knowledgeable and enthusiastic collector of Stravinsky’s letters, scores, and memorabilia. In 1999, Dr. Slim donated his fascinating and colourful collection to UBC Library. Every period of Stravinsky’s rich and varied life is represented in the collection, the largest of its kind in Canada.
This display is curated by Marina Gallagher, PhD student in musicology at UBC, in consultation with Dr. Slim.
As an added bonus for music enthusiasts, the reading room at RBSC also currently features a display of materials from the Gatti-Kraus Collection of Musica Sacra. The collection comprises 66 manuscripts of European sacred music scores; many early editions. These scores were originally part of a significantly larger collection of monographs, scores, and musical instruments assembled through the late 19th and early 20th centuries by father and son, Alexander (1820-1904) and Alessandro (1853-1931) Kraus. In 1978, UBC’s Music Library worked with the Baron Giulio and Baroness Mirella Gatti-Kraus, residents of Vancouver, to transfer a selection from the family’s music manuscript holdings to the university.
Petrushka and Beyond and the materials from the Gatti-Kraus Collection of Musica Sacra are on display at UBC Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections on the first floor of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and can be viewed Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Rare Books and Special Collections at (604) 822-2521 or rare.books@ubc.ca.