BALENOVIC, Draga

Draga Balenovic, also known as Draga Hoffmann-Balenovic, Draga Balena, and Sonja Goldberg, has recorded under many aliases, as well as with the disco/pop band Chinchilla.

Draga was born September 12, 1947 in Vienna to an Austrian mother and a Yugoslavian father. The family moved to Germany where her career started with Erwin Lehn at SDR (Süd Deutscher Rundfunk). Later, she married Willy Hoffmann, with whom she co-wrote many of her songs.

Her long career started as she studied harmony and composition for five years under the composer Hans Kracke (a lecturer at the Dr. Hoch’s Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main). She then went on to compose solo work, as well as collaborating with bandleaders in the 1960s and 1970s. She is well known as a schlager singer.

Her 2010 album Lyraton comprises twelve poems by renowned masters of the Classical and Romantic eras set to music by her; it was released both as a piano album (published by Zweiklang-Verlag) and as a vocal CD.