‘Artistic freedom means responsibility, and vice versa.’

Every Monday, Nik Bärtsch plays with his band Ronin at the Exil club in Zurich. This concert series has been running since 2004, and has been held at the Exil since 2009. The 1,143rd instalment is coming up soon. But before Bärtsch takes to the stage, he stands at the ticket desk and greets the guests:

“This is where I learnt to listen physically, so to speak”, he explains to me. What he means is the ability to sense how someone enters a room, what mood they’re in and what they might need at that moment. Over the years, these encounters have given rise to conversations, friendships and new connections.

“If you’re a good musician, you’re able to play in such a way that the others in the band sound good.”

For Bärtsch, listening is one of the most important skills of all. Not just on stage, but in everyday life too. If you’re attentive, you can respond to others, give them space and develop something together. He describes listening as a kind of radar that allows you to discover the unknown.

This approach also shapes his book ‘Listening: Music – Movement – Mind», which he developed in collaboration with his wife, Andrea Pfisterer-Bärtsch. It brings together experiences from music, movement, martial arts and entrepreneurship.

‘The book begins with the idea that it listens to the reader. And not the other way round.” It is not a traditional self-help book, but rather an invitation to contribute one’s own experiences, to develop ideas further and to engage in dialogue with one another – in effect, “a useless guide for everything”.

Music and community are the two most important forces in Bärtsch’s life. He describes himself not only as a musician, but also as a music entrepreneur. With his bands Ronin and Mobile, he has now given concerts in around 60 countries. Behind this lies a long-term endeavour that goes far beyond simply composing.

“I never had this avant-garde idea of challenging people or, so to speak, provoking them; for me, it was more about sharing.”

To ensure his music is heard at all, Bärtsch invests a great deal of time in networking, organisation and collaboration. He sees no contradiction between this and artistic freedom. On the contrary: anyone who wants to work independently must also take on responsibility.

He considers the notion that art and economic thinking are often treated as opposites to be outdated. Even composers of the past would have had to find ways to perform and disseminate their music. At the same time, Bärtsch regards public funding for the arts as a social responsibility.

“To think that I create art for art’s sake and the rest will follow is either naïve, very trusting or simply negligent.”

For him, the two go hand in hand: political responsibility for culture and the personal responsibility of artists: “Artistic freedom means responsibility, and vice versa.”

Anyone who meets Nik Bärtsch will quickly recognise his distinctive style: black, loose-fitting clothes, clean lines, no accessories. This minimalist aesthetic runs through his life and his music. Having grown up in a family with close ties to design, graphic art and architecture, he became interested in visual design at an early age. Even as a child, his mother regularly took him to exhibitions at the Kunsthaus Zürich.

Later in life, he was influenced by Zen meditation, martial arts and musical concepts centred on repetition and reduction. Another significant influence was the Swiss fashion designer Christa de Carouge. Their collaboration developed into a friendship. Bärtsch composed music for her fashion shows and received dresses in return. He wore them not only on stage, but also in everyday life. He was particularly fascinated by her consistent approach to her work. Every collection followed a clear concept.

‘That’s how I work on my albums too. I try to be very clear, very coherent.’

Christa de Carouge compared a dress to a room that one inhabits. Bärtsch, for his part, sees a piece of music as a space that one can enter. For him, fashion and music follow a similar concept of design.

How does this attitude fit in with an era in which artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to produce music?

Bärtsch is following these developments closely and makes use of digital tools, such as music notation programmes. However, he sees little benefit in them when it comes to the actual creative work.

‘If anyone thinks that this is of any use to them in the core creative process, I believe it’s like using the wrong tools – a bit like trying to learn to ride a bike, so to speak. It makes no sense.’

His music arises from physical experiences, personal memories, intuition and years of training. For him, such connections cannot be reduced to statistical patterns.

“We create using intuition, physical experience, sensuality and our very own attributions of characteristics.”

Artificial intelligence can generate material and suggest new combinations. But the ability to make conscious choices, to create and to develop something of one’s own must continue to be practised. Bärtsch also sees this as a reassuring prospect: “Nobody can take that away from you – fortunately.”

This week sees the release of *Metakosmos*, an album that reveals a different side to Bärtsch. Together with the Greek pianist Tania Giannouli, he has written pieces for two pianos. The collaboration came about through the Enjoy Jazz Festival in Germany. Later, a concert at Moods in Zurich provided an opportunity to deepen their collaboration.

This was unusual for Bärtsch. He normally focuses on his own ensembles and their musical language. With Giannouli, he was able to explore new avenues whilst also returning to his roots as a classically trained pianist. Whilst his music with Ronin is often based on minimalism and polyrhythmic structures, this piano duo leaves more scope for virtuoso playing. Classical music, improvisation and influences from Balkan music come together.

“This collaboration has shown me that even a musical approach developed over decades can remain open. Not by abandoning my own language, but by listening to another language.”

Bärtsch has no intention of making his music accessible only to a trained audience. You don’t have to understand the polyrhythmic structures to feel their impact. Some hear jazz, others discover dance music or the energy of metal in it. Ultimately, it’s about connection, communication and the way we interact with one another.

Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin – ‘Montags’ concert series
26 October 2026: Exil, Zurich, 8.30 pm
2 November 2026: Exil, Zurich, 8.30 pm
9 November 2026: Exil, Zurich, 8.30 pm

New release
On 23 October 2026, ‘Metakosmos’, the joint album by Nik Bärtsch and Tania Giannouli, will be released. Listen & Order

Summer workshop 2027
From 10 to 16 August 2027, Nik Bärtsch and Andrea Pfisterer-Bärtsch will be combining music, meditation and Aikido in Chemin-Dessus. Information & Registration

Nik Bärtsch (born 1971 in Zurich) is a pianist, composer, music entrepreneur and author. He studied classical piano as well as philosophy, linguistics and musicology. With his bands Ronin and Mobile, he developed what is known as ‘Ritual Groove Music’, which combines elements of jazz, funk, minimal music and contemporary music. He is a co-founder of the Zurich music club Exil and, in 2021, published the book *Listening: Music – Movement – Mind* in collaboration with his wife, Andrea Pfisterer-Bärtsch. Bärtsch lives with his family in Zurich.