KAOS2000 Magazine / Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg

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Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg

October 10, 1999 - Villa Montalvo - Saratoga, CA A cool yet comfortable evening at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, CA as the intimate crowd of classical music lovers gathered to hear the stringed seductions of reknowned violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Nadja is one of the most dynamic and daring artists today. Her fingers are merely instruments in bringing her expressiveness out. Her grasp of feeling for any music that she plays is rarely equaled and on this night a select few were able to see her perform in a setting of true Indian Summer warmth underneath a canopy of trees. This took place at the infamous Villa Montalvo, inspirational home to many artists of past and present.
The show began with Beethoven's "Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1 - Allegro con brio, Tema con variazione: Andante con moto, and Rondo: Allegro." This was the first of four numbers of her set which primarily presented more difficult and determined pieces. Before launching into her next piece, Nadja commented on the fact that, after learning it would be an outdoor show, she expected it to be a brisk and cold San Francisco night - having never ventured to the South Bay - and how now it was quite hot onstage.
The next number was a piece by Francis Poulenc, "Sonata for Violin and Piano - Allegro con fuocco, Intermezzo, and Presto tragico." This piece is varied in direction and included a portion that has been also heard as a melody line for a few rock songs as well.
After intermission, Nadja returned to the stage to present Mozart's "Adagio in E Major, K. 261," which she said wasn't exactly fitting of the rest of the show but was a personal favorite aria of hers. In any classical set, one can never go wrong with Mozart and Nadja played the piece with such dexterity and emotion that one could drift off and feel as though they were in the company of Mozart himself conducting.
The final piece of the set was by Richard Strauss, "Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18 - Allegro ma non troppo, Andante cantabile, and Andate: Allegro." Throughout the evening there had been crickets chirping. Not just a few here and there, but a whole orchestrated ensemble who felt that they should be part of the performance. Nadja asked the audience if anyone knew at what time the crickets go to bed. She then explained, "Playing this piece [by Strauss] is a little bit like watching an Erol Flynn film, or for those of you younger in the audience, think of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi." The Strauss piece was performed with determination leading into a furious display of fretwork and her fingers arched and bowed across the strings. There were times in the evening were her performance could be described as no less than possessed more than inspired.
After a standing ovation and a relentless crows, Nadja returned to the stage to perform one last piece which turned out to be "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns. She said that she figured this piece out to put the crickets to sleep. It starts slow and mesmerizing drawing one in.
Before one could notice, it was over. Nadja's magic, accopanied by a very capable Sandra Rivers, had ended. While being entranced by Nadja's playing, it hardly seemed as two hours had really gone by. Miss Salerno-Sonnenberg has appeared with most of the world's greatest conductors and has been presented in many shows and on television. It is a rare chance to see a talent such as hers, and in our lifetime, up close and personal. If ever you have a chance to experience her live for yourself, do not dawdle and regret it later.
Written by and all Photos © 1999 Philip Anderson

Philip Anderson is a musician, in addition to being a writer/photographer. He has performed as a guitarist/vocalist, as well as songwriter, in several bands over the past 20 years. As a writer and photographer, he has been published by several magazines and in several books, and had his works appear on television.

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