Reviews | RH-005 | FRANCO GULLI | reDiscovered

04 October 2020 | Jed Distler | ClassicsToday.com | Big Boxes: A Major Violinist Rediscovered  «The eminent violinist and pedagogue Franco Gulli (1926-2001) may be familiar to collectors mainly through his stellar contributions to I Musici’s Vivaldi Edition on the Philips label. Yet his virtuosity, musicianship, and repertoire covered ample territory. One could argue that professionals and string connoisseurs were more cognizant of Gulli’s artistry than the public at large; in this sense Gulli stood as an Italian counterpart to the American Oscar Shumsky. Emilio Pessina, the mastermind behind Rhine Editions and a longtime Gulli admirer, aims to put things right with an 11-disc anthology that showcases the violinist in a wide range of solo, chamber, and orchestral works.

The performances stem from archival radio broadcasts, out-of-print LPs, and live concert tapes recorded by Pessina himself with Gulli’s permission. Not surprisingly, the sound quality varies from source to source, yet everything is quite listenable. So where to begin? For naturally fluid and intelligently phrased modern-instrument Bach, start with Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 preserved in a May 1973 broadcast with the underrated Ernest Bour conducting. Gulli makes astonishing and consistently musical light of the pyrotechnics prevailing throughout Paganini’s First, Second, and Fifth concertos. To give one example, check out the impeccable rhythmic focus and dead-on intonation in the downward spiccato runs in the Rondo theme of the D major concerto (sound clip). Every solo phrase in a 1980 Mozart Concerto No. 5 with the Cleveland Symphony under Aldo Ceccato sings forth with shape and concision. Haydn’s amazingly inventive yet oddly undervalued Sinfonia concertante not only shows Gulli and his fellow soloists on top form (the cello’s high tessitura poses no problems for Giacinto Caramia!), but also reminds us of conductor Denis Vaughan’s prowess as a Haydn interpreter. This 1965 recording originally appeared alongside Symphonies 82 through 92 in a six-LP RCA Victor boxed set that Sony/BMG ought to reissue. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto features lovingly phrased Kreisler cadenzas and broad tempos for the outer movements. Despite backward balances, one infers genuine soloist/ensemble synergy in the Bartók Second concerto with Mario Rossi leading RAI Torino forces, who are more accomplished than their neighboring Milan counterparts in the Prokofiev First concerto under Sergiu Celibidache (this was decades before the conductor became the Munich Philharmonic’s slow-motion perfectionist doyen). Still, Gulli’s characterful gruffness in the finale evokes his one-time teacher Joseph Szigeti’s famous prewar recording with Thomas Beecham. Perhaps some of the older Szigeti’s relaxed, conversational approach to the Busoni concerto’s more episodic sequences rubbed off on Gulli, although the latter’s agility and timbral sweetness unquestionably surpasses Szigeti’s quavering unsteadiness. It’s easy getting past the dry recorded ambience to appreciate the hand-in-glove ensemble work and stylistic sympathy both Gulli and his wife and longtime pianist collaborator Enrica Cavallo bring to both Busoni violin sonatas. Gulli internalizes and embodies Othmar Schoeck’s abundantly tuneful Violin Concerto to the point, although the muffled 1973 broadcast sonics undermine the impact of loud orchestral tuttis. Several live recitals capture Gulli’s commanding projection from an audience member’s perspective. They also trace how his sonority became slightly pinched in his final years, with less secure intonation, as back-to-back comparisons of the 1987 and 1999 Debussy Sonata performances reveal. For this reason, I prefer Gulli and Cavallo’s studio recording of the Respighi Sonata on the Dynamic label to the live 1999 performance here. In all, this release provides the opportunity for violin mavens to explore Gulli’s artistry in depth. And while I have the floor, I hope to see the first CD reissue of Gulli and Cavallo’s glorious stereo Beethoven Violin Sonata cycle sooner rather than later.»  Artistic Quality: 9 | Sound Quality: 6

The whole package smacks quality, from the sturdy box to the beautifully produced booklet. Track detail listings and a useful biographical portrait are desirable elements. Violin mavens will be equally drawn to the photos of Gulli with notable colleagues - Oistrakh, Kogan, Szigeti and Stern. Equally attractive are the individual photos of the violinist which adorn all eleven CD sleeves.  Sound quality is variable throughout, but this comes as no surprise taking into account the provenance of the recordings. Overall you’ll be more than satisfied. The original master tapes offer warmth and intimacy.
All told, this highly desirable collection offers an amalgam of engrossing repertoire, refined musicianship and passionate commitment.» 

25 June 2019 | Jonathan Woolf | MusicWeb International | Franco Gulli - reDiscovered   A splendid and loving boxset.   «Franco Gulli (1926-2001) is the latest violinist to be celebrated by Rhine Classics in an 11-CD box that does much to expand his discography in what are, in the main, live performances. [...] Some of the highpoints whether for repertorial or performance reasons include the Beethoven Violin Concerto, Paganini No.5 and Viotti No.22 and all come from the master tapes and have never before appeared commercially. [...] I enjoyed Paolo Pessina’s booklet note very much. Still, the track details are full and clear, and there are some lovely, intimate and evocative photographs of Gulli, one in colour, sourced from the family archives that serve only to enhance this splendid and loving box.»