Motion Trio, the Polish accordion trio was founded by Janusz Wojtarowicz, a pioneer of the idea to establish the accordion trio as a standard classical ensemble, like the string quartet, for example.

Janusz Wojtarowicz, Paweł Baranek and Marcin Gałażyn are world-class accordionists utilising the full advantages and sound possibilities of their instruments in their creative work. They are laureates of numerous prestigious awards, such as Grand Prix of the 4th Annual Krzysztof Penderecki International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music and Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, among others.

They have gained the respect of both critics and audiences, giving concerts in 36 countries spanning all continents. They have given performances in many reputable concert halls around the globe: Warsaw Opera House, Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Wien, London’s Barbican Centre, Comédie-Française in Paris, etc.

Their artistic collaborations so far have included Krzysztof Penderecki, Michael Nyman, Bobby McFerrin, Jan A P Kaczmarek, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, Sinfonietta Riga, Rio de Janeiro Orquestra do Theatro Municipal, and AUKSO Chamber Orchestra.

The trio of Polish accordionists scoff at all habits and traditional ways of playing the accordion and transfer the instrument into the future without any electronic effects, as French Le Monde put it.

“Polonium is the fulfillment of a long-standing dream for me and the rest of the Motion Trio. We wanted to create an album containing works of the most outstanding Polish composers of the second half of the 20th century: Witold Lutosławski, Wojciech Kilar, Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki. We were also lucky enough to have Leszek Możdżer join us for the Górecki harpsichord concerto. Polonium, I believe, is an absolutely new approach to these masterpieces and proof that an accordion trio can be a classical ensemble just like a chamber orchestra or a string quartet. I am certain that it is an ensemble for the 21st century. The title ‘Polonium’ was taken from the radioactive chemical element discovered by Marie Curie, named in honour of her native country. I think that in choosing the repertoire, arranging these well-known pieces for three accordions and then record them with Motion Trio, I managed to capture the exceptional Polish emotionality with all its phobias, complicated history, dignity, devotion to tradition, as well as our fear of “others”, loneliness and future and at the same time our huge, often irrational, hope.” – Janusz Wojtarowicz