
Biography
Mateusz Smoczyński is a distinguished Polish violinist, composer, and bandleader renowned for his versatility across various musical genres. He is a co-founder of the Atom String Quartet and New Trio, leads a quintet, and performs in a duo with cellist Stephan Braun.
Smoczyński has performed on prominent stages worldwide, both as a soloist and with diverse ensembles, collaborating with acclaimed artists such as Branford Marsalis, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Markus Stockhausen, Paquito D’Rivera, Tomasz Stańko, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Bobby McFerrin, Anna Maria Jopek, Leszek Możdżer, and the NDR Big Band. As soloist he performed with leading Polish orchestras.
In recent years, Smoczyński has made significant contributions to symphonic composition. He has written five violin concertos with orchestra, including “Adam’s Apple” (2018), “2PiX” for violin and saxophone (2021), performed with Branford Marsalis, and “Fallen Angel” (2022), dedicated to Janusz Olejniczak.
His extensive discography features over 100 albums, including a solo release and a critically acclaimed collaborative album with Joachim Kühn, “Speaking Sound” (ACT Music, 2020), recognized as one of the year’s top albums by Downbeat magazine. Since 2024, he has been signed with Warner Music.
From 2012 to 2016, Smoczyński was a member of the Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet. He performed over a hundred concerts with the ensemble at major U.S. venues and appeared on Tierney Sutton’s Grammy-nominated album “After Blue.” The Turtle Island Quartet’s album “Confetti Man,” featuring Smoczyński, was honored by the National Federation of Music Clubs as the best American chamber recording of the year.
Smoczyński holds the Grand Prix from the 2nd International Zbigniew Seifert Jazz Violin Competition and has been repeatedly named Jazz Violinist of the Year by Jazz Forum magazine. A graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland where he studied under Andrzej Gębski, he has served as an Adjunct Professor of jazz and world music at his alma mater since 2017.
Works
- 2018 Adam’s Apple violin concerto for violin, baritone violin and orchestra on the album Adam’s Apple
- 2021 2PiX double concerto for violin, tenor saxophone and orchestra
- 2022 Fallen Angel double concerto for violin, piano and orchestra on the album Fallen Angel
- 2024 Symphonic Syncopations double concerto for violin, marimba and orchestra
- 2025 Chamber Syncopations concerto for marimba and string orchestra
- 2017 Cosmos for improvising string quartet and string orchestra on the album Supernova
- 2018 Big Bang for improvising string quartet and orchestra
- 2022 The Polish Suite for flute, violin, baritone violin and string orchestra on the album Polish Impressions
- 2025 Symphony No. 1 “Biesy” for large symphony orchestra
- 2010 Zakopane for string quartet on the album Essence· Metamorphoses· Zakopower & Atom String Quartet· Places
- 2011 Manhattan Island for string quartet on the album Essence· Metamorphoses
- 2014 Happy for string quartet on the album Essence· Supernova
- 2019 Nowe Pieśni Kurpiowskie (New Kurpie Songs) for piano quartet
- 2021 Komeda Recomposed for piano quartet
- 2021 String Quartet No. 1 “Pictures from Warsaw” for string quartet on the album Universum
- 2017 Dorothy's Dream for solo violin on the album Metamorphoses
- 2017 The Farmer for solo violin on the album Metamorphoses
- 2017 Violin Sonata No. 1 “Metamorphoses” for solo violin on the album Metamorphoses
- 2023 The Jazz Capriccio for solo violin dedication to Jan Romanowski
- 2021 Carousel for trombone, violin and big band
- 2008 Life Motive on the album Expressions
- 2017 Ballada dla M. on the album Berek
- 2017 Berek on the album Berek
- 2017 Empiria on the album Berek
- 2017 Gruby Kot on the album Berek
- 2019 Trane's Mode on the album Keep On Turnin’
- 2023 Over the Clouds jazz suite