Tomas Bächli, Piano
The life of a piano player involves several activities: practicing, performing, teaching and thinking about music. Tomas Bächli strives to connect these different aspects of making music in as many ways as possible.
Born in Zurich in 1958, Tomas Bächli studied piano with Werner Bärtschi at the music conservatory Zurich. He lived and worked as a concert pianist and piano teacher in Zurich until 1996, then he followed his wife Sieglinde Geisel to Brooklyn New York and became an active participant in New York’s alternative music scene. Since 1999, he has lived with his family in Berlin.
In his quest to find ways to connect music and audience in a way that does justice to both, Tomas Bächli has often experimented with new formats. In 2016 he released a multi-media book on the French composer Erik Satie, I Am Erik Satie, Like Everyone Else. Since 2018 he has produced the podcast Am Klavier for the Swiss online magazine Republik.
Without limiting himself exclusively to one style or period, Tomas Bächli often performs modern and contemporary repertoire. A particular area of interest is the music of composers who were exiled from Germany during the Second World War, such as Erich Itor Kahn, Leopold Spinner and Philip Herschkowitz. A recording of songs by these composers, performed together with the singer Eva Nievergelt, was made possible by the Werkjahr Interpretation from the City of Zurich in 2021.