Death of alphorn virtuoso Eliana Burki

According to her management, Eliana Burki's concert tours have taken her beyond Europe to the USA, South America and the Middle and Far East - and made her an ambassador for the Swiss national instrument in jazz, classical and world music.

With her band I Alpinisti, but also as a soloist with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra and the Munich Radio Orchestra, she has opened up a new repertoire for the alphorn. She has also incorporated jazz and funk as well as influences from the folk music of the countries she has visited. She is also one of the few Swiss musicians to have made a name for herself in the US music industry.

Burki was four years old when an alphorn ensemble at the finish line of a bike race sparked her passion for the instrument. Two years later, she convinced Hansjürg Sommer, the Alphorn Pope of Solothurn, to take her on as a pupil. Soon afterwards, she took part in the Swiss Yodelling Festival. At a later yodelling festival, she played a blues piece.