How a grandfather’s passion sowed the seeds for a second life in music

When it comes to music and the violin, Marshall Costantino of Denver, Colorado had what you could call a head start. He was born and grew up in Florida. His family knew the importance of music in a child’s education. The introduction would last a lifetime.

“Both sides of my Italian family—I’m a second-generation immigrant—felt that kids had to play music for two years and give it a good-faith effort,” he recalled recently. “If you didn’t like music after two years, you could quit.”

His paternal grandfather, a skilled amateur violinist, introduced him to the violin, at age 4 1/2. Before emigrating to the United States in the early 1920s, Marshall’s grandfather had earned a diploma from the Istituto Musicale Romano, which Marshall has hanging on the wall of his practice room. Grandpa is with him every time he practices!

His grandfather would become Marshall’s teacher during his teenage years, and he has many fond memories of playing Viotti 2 Violin Duets together.

After high school graduation, living life imposed a 42-year hiatus from violin playing:

Marshall would have other priorities—earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees; serving in the Air Force for four years; getting married; and parenting a son. Marshall and his wife even started a credit and financial risk management consulting business which lasted for 27 years of full-time self-employment. If that wasn’t enough, Marshall also taught part-time at the university level while he served his clients.

“I always felt that I needed 28 hours in the day to get everything done!” he said.

But, he always planned that when he retired, he would return to violin playing as a major hobby. The result would be a second life in music, with chamber music playing a central role.

We talked with Marshall about his life in chamber music. His responses have been edited for length and clarity. – Bob Goetz

You didn’t play the violin for 42 years. What brought you back?

My wife’s aunt and uncle told me, “Don’t retire from something; retire to something,” and I’d always wanted to get back to music. I never sold my violin because I always felt I would return to playing it—I just didn’t know when. My grandfather had given me a series of violins as I grew up, and part of why I kept my 4/4 violin was to honor my unique relationship with him. I resumed violin play at age 60 as a way to prepare for retirement.

Why did chamber music appeal to you?

As a soloist you’re out there alone with nowhere to hide. I didn’t want to get lost in an orchestra section without a voice, either. Chamber music felt like the right compromise: not exposed on my own, but not buried in a section.

You also play the viola?

I was smitten by the viola at a 2005 concert where the Da Vinci Quartet plus their retired violist played Dvořák’s American Quintet, Op. 97 — I was struck by how every voice got a turn to be the star, passing themes back and forth to each other. That performance motivated me to learn to play the viola. Also, I thought that if I played the viola, I would give any future chamber group I might join the flexibility for me to play whichever instrument the group needed. The most challenging physical and intellectual things I have done in the last 30 years have been to learn to read the Alto Clef and to teach myself to play the viola!

How did your current string quartet come together?

A neighbor, who also experienced a 42-year hiatus from violin playing, and I started playing duets together, both at age 60, and we clicked—we’ve grown together as duet partners for 17 years now.

But, neither of us knew how or where to connect with other amateurs of similar proficiency and approach to playing music. Through ACMP (which I found via a Google search and joined in 2024) we grew into a quartet, despite some player turnover along the way. What’s kept it working is that nobody in the group has an ego about it — we’re all at different proficiency levels, but we work patiently through the difficult passages together rather than letting the gaps cause friction.

Who are your favorite composers?

Dvořák is No. 1 for his balanced chamber compositions with interwoven parts — especially the American String Quintet, Op. 97, which is my favorite piece. My second favorite piece is a duet reduction for violin & viola a friend of mine and I developed of the Shostakovich second Jazz Waltz from his second Jazz Suite for Small Orchestra. The Jazz Waltz is such a fun and uplifting piece to play – and it is a quick play of 5 or so minutes!

Who knows? Maybe some day soon we will be a string quintet undertaking the Dvořák American Quintet – for fun and for the social and respectful relationships that make chamber music-making such a rewarding and fulfilling hobby in retirement.