From A To Z

"From A To Z", the third recording from NSS MUSIC featuring the passionate and energetic renowned American violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg as soloist with the "fresh-sounding and consistently exciting" San Francisco-based New Century Chamber Orchestra, is a world premiere live album featuring works by celebrated composers Clarice Assad, William Bolcom, Michael Daugherty, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. All four works were commissioned as part of New Century’s Featured Composer program, created by Nadja when she joined the conductorless ensemble as their music director in 2008, and recorded live in San Francisco Bay Area performances with Nadja as soloist. In her liner notes for the CD, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg writes, "One of the first actions I took in my new post, and one which I am most proud of, was to create New Century's Featured Composer program, which centers around new music by some of the world's most established composers, most promising and talented young composers, and even composers who reach outside the realm of classical music. It has been an honor to work with these incredible musical minds and to learn from them as well. ... I have enjoyed long and successful collaborations with William Bolcom and Clarice Assad, so it was incredibly satisfying for me to introduce them into the New Century family. Equally satisfying are my new relationships with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Michael Daugherty, who composed for me as if they had known me for many years. My admiration and respect for the combined talents of these composers is endless and my gratitude is heartfelt. Their works, commissioned by New Century, add not only to the violin repertoire but to the chamber music cannon, and string chamber orchestra repertoire in particular...." "From A To Z"opens with Clarice Assad's Dreamscapes, composed in 2008, "a musical depiction of what happens during a dream." It is followed by William Bolcom's 2009 Romanza, which the composer refers to as a "shamelessly Romantic" work. Third on the recording is this season's world premiere, Michal Daugherty's Fallingwater (2013), a musical tribute to late American architect Frank Lloyd Wright inspired by four of his famous buildings. The closing work is Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Commedia dell'Arte from 2011, in which she creates musical portraits of three stock characters - Arlecchino (Harlequin), Columbina and The Captain from Italy's Renaisance theater. Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin "an important presence in the violin world" -The New York Times New Century Chamber Orchestra "A cultural treasure."- San Francisco Classical Voice Clarice Assad "...Assad, a prominent figure in both jazz and classical composition, is a serious triple threat." -San Francisco Chronicle William Bolcom "From opera to ragtime to rock, his imaginative arrangements have moved countless individuals and left a lasting imprint on the world of music." -2006 National Medal of Arts Citation Michael Daugherty "Daugherty writes music that is propulsive, accessible yet well constructed and deeply imbued with the spirits of both romanticism and postmodernism." -The Washington Post Ellen Taaffe Zwilich "Zwilich's music is distinctive not only for its superb craftsmanship, but also for its wit, lyricism and sheer beauty, making it immediately appealing to listeners." -Cincinnati.com Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg Passion, excitement, and innovation are the hallmarks of internationally-acclaimed soloist and chamber musician Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's artistry. Highly regarded for her compelling performances, daring interpretations and dedication to her craft, she is one of today's leading violinists, renowned for her work on the concert stage, in the recording studio, and in her role as music director of the San Francisco-based New Century Chamber Orchestra, which she joined in January 2008. With successful careers in both the solo and chamber music worlds, Nadja continues to enthrall audiences of all ages. A powerful and creative presence on the recording scene, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg continues to enrich the collection of her record label, NSS Music, which she started in 2005. In addition to her over twenty releases on the EMI and Nonesuch labels, Nadja has also made several recordings for NSS MUSIC featuring both concerto and chamber pieces . Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg's exceptional artistry is paired with great musical intelligence which, along with her unique personality, have served her well in numerous environments. She was the subject of the 2000 Academy Award-nominated film, Speaking in Strings, an intensely personal documentary on her life, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, was released in theaters nationwide, and subsequently premiered on HBO's Signatures channel in 1999. Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg has also been interviewed and profiled on CBS' 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes II, and Sunday Morning; CNN's Newsstand; NBC's National News and Newsstand; NBC's National News and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson; Bravo's Arts & Minds; PBS' Live from Lincoln Center, and The Charlie Rose Show, among others. On the publishing front, Nadja: On My Way, her autobiography written for children discussing her experiences as a young musician building a career, was published by Crown Books in 1989. Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg's professional career began in 1981 when she won the Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition. She is the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Avery Fisher Prize. An American citizen, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome and emigrated to the United States at the age of eight to study at The Curtis Institute of Music. She later studied with Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School. New Century Chamber Orchestra The New Century Chamber Orchestra, one of only a handful of conductorless ensembles in the world, was founded in 1992 by cellist, Miriam Perkoff, and violist, Wieslaw Pogorzelski. Musical decisions are made collaboratively by the 19-member string ensemble, including San Francisco Bay Area musicians and those who travel from across the U.S. and Europe to perform together. Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg joined the ensemble as music director and concertmaster in January 2008, and leads from the concertmaster chair. In addition to performing classic pieces of chamber orchestra repertoire, New Century commissions important new works, breathes life into rarely heard jewels of the past and performs world premieres. The New Century Chamber Orchestra Featured Composer program commissions composers to write new works, with the goals of expanding chamber orchestra repertoire and providing audiences with a deeper understanding of today's living composers. The orchestra provides insight into the breadth of the Featured Composer's work by performing a variety of pieces by the composer throughout the season. Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg and New Century have made two critically acclaimed national tours together. In addition to touring efforts, New Century's national footprint has also continued to grow with a rapidly increasing national radio presence. The ensemble has been broadcast a total of 21 times on American Public Media's Performance Today, with each broadcast heard on 260 radio stations across the country. With "From A To Z", the orchestra has released seven compact discs, three of them for the NSS MUSIC label. The orchestra's first concert DVD for NSS MUSIC, was filmed by Paola di Florio, director of the 1999 Academy Award-nominated film Speaking in Strings, and released May 8, 2012. The DVD weaves together documentary footage and a live tour concert from a February 2011 performance at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.