Oscar Peterson’s Piano Comes Alive at TIFF

Oscar Peterson: Black + White, a new documentary spanning the remarkable career of the jazz legend, will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12th.

At the premiere, film-goers will be treated to an added bonus – the Bösendorfer Oscar Peterson Signature Edition Piano will be on-site, and Oscar’s genuine performances will be reproduced in meticulous detail using Yamaha’s Disklavier technology.

A lifelong technology enthusiast, Oscar sat at a piano in the early 1980s and pressed “record” to perform 13 tunes. Considered lost for many years, those digital recordings were found and have been meticulously restored. Now, with just a touch of a button, the piano’s keys and pedals come alive, recreating his original performance from 40 years ago, as if he is in the room with the listener.

In commemoration of the 90th birthday of Oscar Peterson, Bösendorfer introduced the “Oscar Peterson Signature Edition Piano”. This rare and remarkable instrument, with its built-in Yamaha Disklavier technology that recreates actual performances by Oscar himself, offers a captivating opportunity to “sit beside Oscar Peterson” and experience music the way he originally heard it. After the premiere, the piano can be seen and heard first-hand at the Remenyi House of Music in Toronto.

Oscar’s impact can’t be overstated – with over 200 recordings and seven Grammy awards, countless live concerts, and a tremendous career as an educator and mentor to so many young musicians, he is regarded as one of the most influential and respected musicians in history. The documentary will cover his career over more than six decades, with interviews featuring some of the biggest names in music, including Robi Botos, Larnell Lewis, Herbie Hancock, and Billy Joel, to name just a few.

Yamaha Canada Music, a proud sponsor of Jazz FM’s “Dinner Jazz” and supporter of jazz in Canada for over 50 years, provides the finest pianos to jazz festivals across the country every year. In 2007, Yamaha purchased the Bosendorfer company, which continues to hand-produce pianos in the same tradition that has defined their expertise since 1827. Yamaha and Bösendorfer continue to work closely with the Peterson estate to carry on Oscar’s extraordinary legacy.

The Bösendorfer Oscar Peterson Signature Piano with Yamaha’s Disklavier technology, one of only 12 in the world, can be experienced in person at Remenyi House of Music, 210 Bloor Street West in Toronto.