Antonio Pasculli (1842-1924) was part of an obscure generation of 19th century Italian wind virtuosos whose music, though popular in his own time, faded as the 20th century approached. Audiences then (as now) preferred the piano or the violin or cello as the instrument of choice in the field of the solo concerto. Composing works (sonatas, concertos, etc.) for wind instruments became mostly an Italian mode, the province of composers who drew from the rich thematic material provided by the opera. The wind repertoire thus became filled with fantasias on themes from the operas of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, and were often preferred by the Italian public over solo vocal adaptations. Pasculli was perhaps the best of these “adapters” and this disc contains his works for the oboe. What makes the oboe an interesting instrument of choice here is that its enunciative potential far out-reaches that of a human voice. Indeed, Pasculli composed in a way that had the notes coming so fast and so furiously in arpeggios and staccato scales (in very extreme tempos, at that) that no room was made for the soloist to take a breath. You absolutely have to hear soloist Yeon-Hee Kwak make her runs in Fantasia Sull’ opera Poliuto di G. Donizetti. That this extraordinary young woman doesn’t pass out is truly a miracle. It must be said that these works are not merely designed to display prolixity. Pasculli never forgets that these are basically songs and allows both the oboe and piano room to cajole and delight. As young as Yeon-Hee Kwak is (she’s only 20) she is clearly master of her domain, triumphing resoundingly over the only other version of this music worth mentioning, the Zaboli performance on Accord.
