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| Vinyl Record Photo by Adrian Korte on Unsplash |
Michael J. Antonello is a Minnesota violinist known for his fluid renditions of classical pieces on the finest Italian instruments, such as a Stradivarius violin, the 1720 “Ex-Rochester” and a 1742 Guarneri del Gesu, one of only 125 instruments in existence. Among the albums that Michael (Mike) Antonello has recorded in collaboration with pianist Peter Arnstein is “Brahms Sonatas.” A traumatic experience in Brahms’ life that resonates in this fine recording is the tragic, protracted death of his teacher and mentor, Robert Schumann. Without Schumann’s tutelage, Brahms increasingly worked alone, with only a small, dwindling cohort of friends to provide constructive criticism of his compositions. Brahms’ brusque personality and inclination to take on the role of scholarly introvert led him to accept advice and support only from his late mentor’s wife, Clara Schumann, a highly regarded pianist, and Joseph Joachim, a composer and violinist. The paradoxical quality of Brahms’ sonatas and other chamber pieces is that they feature the type of brilliant conversation that he was never capable of with other humans. In the musical pieces, themes are bantered and exchanged among instruments, which often interrupt each other in sheer exuberance of expression. This can take the form of inspiration and joyful passion as well as tragedy. These piano and violin pieces are intricate and require a virtuosic knowledge of the instrument to play as the composer intended.
