Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
| Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 10, 1961 Rome, Italy |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, author |
| Instruments | Violin |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | EMI, Nonesuch, NSS Music |
| Website | Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg |
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (born January 10, 1961) is an American classical violinist and teacher.
Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome, Italy. Her father left when she was three months old. She immigrated with her mother to the United States at the age of eight, relocating to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and later with Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and School.
In 1981, she became the youngest-ever prize winner in the Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition. She received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1983, and in 1999 she was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize for "outstanding achievement and excellence in music".
In 1994, Salerno-Sonnenberg badly injured her left little finger while chopping onions in the kitchen; she was making Christmas dinner for friends and family. Her fingertip was surgically reattached, after which it took six months to heal. During that time, she refingered pieces for three fingers and continued to perform.
After her finger healed, she became depressed. In 1995, she attempted suicide but the gun failed to fire.
In 1989, she wrote Nadja: On My Way, an autobiography written for children. In May 1999 she received an honorary Master of Musical Arts degree from New Mexico State University, the university's first honorary degree. She is also the subject of Paola di Florio's documentary Speaking in Strings, which, in 2000, was nominated for an Academy Award.
In 2003, Salerno-Sonnenberg performed the world premiere of Sérgio Assad's Triple Concerto, a work for violin, two guitars and orchestra with the Assad brothers and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The same work, called "Originis", was recorded in 2009 with Salerno-Sonnenberg, the Assad brothers, and the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo.
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