Ursula Mamlok was born in Berlin in 1923, but was forced to emigrate via Ecuador to New York in 1939 because of her Jewish descent. In 2006 she returned to the city where she was born. Above Clouds for viola and piano, created in 2013/14, is one of Mamlok's most recent compositions and is no longer than about three minutes. In this period, however, many a thing happens, even if, as is often the case with Mamlok, the dramatization of the piece rather not follows traditional principles. This is why the end of the piece comes a surprise, when you least expect it.