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Bach’s Chaconne and folk music from Denmark? Biber’s Passacaglia and a Swiss Schottisch? And all that for solo viola? Ursula Sarnthein presents a unique and virtuosic programme on her new offering Nicht Ganz Allein ("Far From Alone"). "When the first lockdown began in March 2020, one of my first thoughts was: finally enough time to practice Bach’s Chaconne on the viola! When I started, I didn’t know exactly where this journey would lead. Gradually, the idea developed of recording music that I have encountered as a violinist and violist and has touched me – and which I can play alone on the viola. I have been touched by very different pieces from very different times and styles, and here they meet. Some of the pieces on the album are connected with musicians who have crossed my path, and this is also where the seemingly random compilation of folk music from Romania, Denmark and Switzerland comes from. The result is a wide-ranging collection that goes from Baroque to folk music, old and new, from three different countries, to the music, previously unknown to me, written by the Swiss composer Armin Schibler between 1947 and 1951. At first glance, the pieces do not appear to fit together in the classical sense, but in fact there are strong connections to be discovered alongside the obvious contrasts." - Ursula Sarnthein