Oddities: Alphorn is … Cool?


All you wanted to know about alphorn but were afraid to ask.

The Wall Street Journal has published a detailed article, video and slideshow on the alphorn. The focus is on Eliana Burki who puts a new twist on the old:

She performs in short skirts and torn jeans, and likes to play funky jazz tunes on her collapsible carbon-fiber alphorn. “People thought I was a bit weird at first but it’s getting more accepted now,” she says in her apartment in Berne, before tearing off a riff, skipping from low to high notes,
blending in trills and low rumbles.

I read it here. Be sure to click on the different tabs for the many elements to the article.

Myself, I found more interest in the historic and traditional elements of the story than in “jamming” on a 10-note instrument, but perhaps I underestimate its potential.

morecowbell5ri Oddities: Alphorn is ... Cool?

BRUCE HEMBD is a web marketing developer by day who plays French horn professionally at night.» More information about Bruce Hembd » More articles by Bruce Hembd » Contact

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John Ericson & Bruce Hembd
on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.