Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (born January 10, 1961) is an American classical violinist and teacher.
Early life and education
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.
Career
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 pinkie 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.
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