Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg returns to the Kennedy Center to perform her signature piece, the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1, with Christoph Eschenbach conducting the National Symphony Orchestra.
“This work spoke to me immediately when I first heard it many years ago on the radio and was blown away,” she said. “When I told my teacher I wanted to play it, she said it wasn’t a good idea. Maybe she didn’t like it, but I learned it on my own and played it for Maxim, the composer’s son. That performance was a great success and years later we recorded the concerto with the London Symphony.
“Shostakovich’s style of writing has hidden intent. His momentum and propulsion utilize so many sounds the violin can create. The cadenza is the longest in the entire repertoire, a whole movement in itself. Being able to speak with Maxim about his father at our first performance was a great honor. He wished his father could have heard me play the concerto.”
| Onstage |
| Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg with the National Symphony Orchestra |
| » Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall |
| » When: 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
| » Info: $20 to $85; 202-467-3600, 800-444-1324; kennedy-center.org |
Not only one of the finest classical artists performing today, she plays easily with popular artists and schmoozes with television hosts, even the gang on “Sesame Street.” Many of her fans, she acknowledges, were first introduced to her on that program and began to relate to her at an early age. Because she believes it is very important to share her expertise with the younger generation, she answers questions on her web site from aspiring violinists.
In 2005, before the economy crashed, she had the foresight to establish NSS, her own record company. This has enabled her to release 10 high quality recordings on her label to date. They feature such major artists as the American String Quartet, Brazilian guitarists the Assad Brothers, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, conductor Marin Alsop, French hornist John Cerminaro, pianist/composer Clarice Assad, the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Salerno-Sonnenberg herself. She has been music director of NCCO since 2008 and during that time has taken the dynamic ensemble on several tours. She will bring them to Washington in 2013.
During Thursday’s AfterWords discussion, Salerno-Sonnenberg looks forward to learning what the audience wants to know about the program they just enjoyed and hearing their comments.
“The Kennedy Center is a hall I’ve always loved and Christoph is a dream conductor,” she said. “We’ve worked together many times. With the Shoshtakovich, all the elements come together perfectly.”
