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Eliana Burki made a name for herself internationally with her alphorn in jazz, funk and pop. She died of a brain tumor at the age of 39. (archive picture)
Picture: Keystone/Gaetan Bally
Alphorn player Eliana Burki died of a brain tumor in April 2023. Her partner is now publishing the last music she recorded. He remembers the nature of his partner.
In April 2023, Solothurn alphorn player Eliana Burki lost her battle against a malignant brain tumor. The musician died at the age of 39.
The mother of two leaves behind her family and her music. Now - just a few months after her death - new songs by her are being released. This is to mark her 40th birthday, which she would have celebrated on September 13.
Her partner Blas Ulibarri (49) wrote on Instagram: "She loved music. She loved pushing boundaries. She loved to inspire, uplift and encourage. It should therefore come as no surprise that in the last months of her life, Eliana once again broke new ground, exploring and expanding the musical and emotional range of the alphorn as only she could with four new songs."
"Auf Alle Die" is the first song with lyrics reminiscent of old acquaintances: Patent Ochsner gave her permission to use the lines from "Für immer uf di": "They obviously had a deeper meaning for Eliana, they express her positive attitude to life."
Burki's voice can once again be heard on the songs as she sings: "To all the time that has passed, to all the time that still remains for me", painful words in the face of reality.
Ulibarri also shares how he and Eliana Burki came up with the title for the new songs: "It was the moment when a working title emerged for the music Eliana had written, at the time still in the form of notes she had scribbled in a notebook or fragments of melodies she had recorded on her iPhone. And today we are releasing the last four songs she recorded under this title: 'New Prayers for an Old World'."
