Swiss trade office celebrates 25 years

“We are celebrating this year 25 years of the Trade Office of Swiss Industries (TOSI). With Eliana Burki, who plays the alphorn, we really found the right person for this event,” said Hans-Peter Fitze, deputy director of TOSI, during a press conference yesterday.

“Eliana Burki and her Funky Swiss Alphorn,” organized by TOSI, is free to the public and will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Taipei Museum of Drinking Water.

Fitze explained, “The alphorn is a very old traditional instrument of Switzerland and normally it is played rather by farmers or traditional people. With Eliana we have a young lady but she doesn’t play traditional tunes, she plays in a modern style.”

“Switzerland is a very old country ... We also have our traditions and we are based on these traditions. And out of these traditions we always try to do something new, something modern like Eliana does, so she fits very well into our program,” he remarked.

Looking at the young, attractive and vivacious Burki it may be quite difficult to imagine her playing a three-meter-long alphorn, a massive horn of conical bore traditional from mountainous regions of Europe and usually played by men.

But she does. And she does it masterfully with her own blend of jazz, pop, soul and funk — plus a dash of personal artistic flare. Her unique performances no doubt encapsulate the traditional with a contemporary twist.

Local audiences will be treated to songs from her new album “Heartbeat” such as “Got Love” and “Hot Horn,” as well as a special piece entitled “Aboriginal Song” — a rendition of Taiwanese oldie “Kao Shan Ching (Green High Mountain),” which she arranged especially for the Taipei concert.

Touring with the Swiss singer and instrumentalist for the first time are band members Christoph Siegenthaler on the piano and vocals, Andreas Waelti on the bass, and percussionist Lorenz Hunziker.

Burki has been playing since the age of six. Asked the reason for choosing the unusual instrument, Burki did not hesitate to reply, “It’s very special. I love the sound from the horn, it’s a very special sound!”

As a girl, she decided to abandon folkloric costumes and traditional melodies and turned to trendy outfits and modern latin, blues and jazz rhythms. “The traditional songs were so boring for me!” she said.

Burki started her career as a professional musician and singer in 2002, and has performed throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, and Asia.

Also attending the event at the museum (located at No. 1 Si Yuan St. in the capital city’s Gongguan area) will be Swiss couple Emil and Liliana Schmid, who hold the Guinness World Record for driving the longest distance and through the most countries in a single car.

Taiwan is the couple’s 157th country. The Schmids started their 23-year journey in 1984, driving their Toyota Land Cruiser across the Americas, Africa, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East.

TOSI was established in 1982 as a representative of Swiss economic interests in Taiwan. It offers services related to the promotion of trade, investment, education, tourism, and cultural exchanges, as well as visa processing and services that cater to the Swiss community in Taiwan.

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