Nik Bärtsch

Nik Bärtsch (born 3 August 1971) is a Swiss pianist, composer, and record producer from Zurich.[1]

Nik Bärtsch (2016)

Career
The band Ronin (2016)

Bärtsch studied piano and percussion before the age of ten, then went to the Zurich Musikhochschule where he graduated in 1997.[1] Additionally, he studied linguistics, musicology, and philosophy at the University of Zurich from 1998 to 2001. He grew interested in the work of avant-garde composers John Cage, Steve Reich, and Morton Feldman.[1] He formed his band Mobile in 1997, and his band Ronin in 2001. Manfred Eicher signed the band Ronin to his label, ECM Records, and released 2008 the first album Stoa.[2] During the next year, Bärtsch became co-owner of a club in Zurich. Bärtsch's music has been called zen funk, but with the album Llyria, he moved toward contemporary classical music.[3] He was instructor of Practical Aesthetics at the Musikhochschule Zurich-Winterthur from 2000–2003.

Awards
  • 1999 and 2002 Career award of the UBS Cultural Foundation
  • 2002 Werkjahr, Career award from the city of Zurich
  • 2004 Culture award from the town of Zollikon
  • 2006 Priority jazz support from the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
  • 2015 nomination for the Swiss Music Prize by the federal office of Culture of Switzerland
  • 2016 winner category "rising stars keyboards", critics poll DownBeat

Discography
Year recorded Title Label Notes
2001 Ritual Groove Music Ronin Rhythm Records Nik Bärtsch's Mobile with Don Li, Mats Eser and Kaspar Rast
2002 Randori Ronin Rhythm Records Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Björn Meyer, Rast and Andy Pupato
2002 Hishiryo: Piano Solo Ronin Rhythm Records Solo piano and percussion
2003 Live Ronin Rhythm Records Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Meyer, Rast and Pupato
2004 Rea Ronin Rhythm Records Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Meyer, Rast, Pupato and guests Sha, Thomy Geiger and Michael Gassmann
2004 Aer Ronin Rhythm Records Nik Bärtsch's Mobile with Sha, Rast and Mats Eser
2006 Stoa ECM Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Sha, Meyer, Rast and Pupato
2008 Holon ECM Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Sha, Meyer, Rast and Pupato
2010 Llyria ECM Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Sha, Meyer, Rast and Pupato
2012 Nik Bärtsch's Ronin Live ECM Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Sha, Meyer, Rast, Pupato and Thomy Jordi
2016 Continuum ECM Nik Bärtsch's Mobile with Sha, Rast, Nicolas Stocker, string quintet with Etienne Abelin and Ola Sendecka (violin), David Schnee (viola), Ambrosius Huber and Solme Hong (Celli)
2018 Awase ECM Nik Bärtsch's Ronin with Sha, Jordi and Rast

As sideman

With Menico Ferrari

  • About Roses and Thorns (Unit, 1995)

With Don Li

  • Gen (Tonus Music, 2004)

As producer
  • We Need to Repeat, Ingrid Lukas (Ronin Rhythm, 2009)
  • RACE, Dee Day Dub (Ronin Rhythm, 2014)
  • Demimonde, Ingrid Lukas (Ronin Rhythm Records 2015)
  • Echo, Ikarus (Ronin Rhythm Records 2015)

References
  1. Nastos, Michael G. Allmusic: Nik Bärtsch Biography, accessed May 25, 2018
  2. ECM Records: artist information, accessed May 25, 2018
  3. Nastos, Michael G. "Nik Bärtsch". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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