Katharina Gross - 14 Jewels (2016)

The album ’14 Jewels’ by the duo Gross & Lucini was released in early 2016. A CD with beautiful compositions that lean against the Spanish tradition, the Balkans, tango and do have a Brazilian feel. Cellist Katharina Gross and guitarist Lucca Lucini found the heart of the music and crystallized them into 14 jewels!

The CD ‘14 Jewels’ opens with three pieces from the ‘Balkan Songbook‘ by the American composer Alan Thomas. Originally composed for flute and guitar in an eleven piece composition. On this album we’ll find only three pieces. ‘Haj, mene majaka‘ is one of them. A dance with a beautiful interplay between cello and guitar. This also applies also to the ‘Sonata for guitar and cello‘ by the Brazilian composer Radamés Gnatelli where cello and guitar sometimes follow each other and then again are each other musical counterpart. These compositions require a lot of musicians. The music must be understood very well in order to emit the proper intonation, so that it can be optimally utilized. Katharina Gross and Luca Lucini are fully mastered in making their music with a pronounced character, so it sounds convincing and confident. It is clear that we are dealing with two professional musicians. They both studied at the Conservatories in Cologne, Manchester and Cremona (northern Italy) and won numerous awards for international competitions. Striking is the work ‘Mestre Claudinei’ by the Dutch composer Arnold Marinissen that, after the great tango-related ‘Jewel’ by Matteo Falloni, emits a variety of sounds and harmonies. Striking is also the intro of ‘Suite Populaire Espagnol’ (de Falla) in which the cello plays overtone’s, like those heard also in ‘Nana‘, but then played guitar. The debut album by duo Gross & Lucini is a special CD with compositions for the classical music lover, as well for those who love world and contemporary music. That makes ‘14 Jewels’ very accessible for a wide audience!