Teresa Sterne; Former Head of Nonesuch Records

Teresa Sterne, 73, the one-time head of Nonesuch Records who turned the small label into one of the most innovative firms in music. A piano prodigy as a child, Sterne was born in Brooklyn, New York City. Her father was a violinist, her mother a cellist. She made her professional debut in 1939 at the age of 12, playing Madison Square Garden with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Her performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the NBC orchestra and a later performance of Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto with the New York Philharmonic were praised by critics. But she abandoned her musical career in her late teens and found a variety of jobs. She worked for the impresario Sol Hurok and then took a series of jobs with minor record labels before joining Nonesuch. As head of Nonesuch, she expanded the label’s focus, adding contemporary American music and American popular music. She supported American composers such as Elliott Carter and George Crumb. She is also credited with restoring interest in Scott Joplin’s ragtime music by releasing a series of his piano works played by Joshua Rifkin. Then her career at Nonesuch fell victim to financial pressures, and she was fired in 1979. On Sunday in Manhattan of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.