About us

Marek Wieroński

Founder and owner of the BeArTon

Graduated from the University of Warsaw. Musicologist, journalist, author, producer, and publisher. Founder and owner of the BeArTon label. Composer, member of the ZAiKS Authors’ Association.

As a journalist, associated with such journals and magazines as Jazz, Jazz-Forum, Ekran, Muzyka, Kultura, and Argumenty in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Concurrently, worked for the Polish Radio as a composer, music arranger, and recording session manager.

His compositions were played by the radio stations and competed in such festival programmes as Debuts and Premieres of the Polish Song Festival in Opole, as well as other national events. Winner of the XIX National Castle Meetings: Poetry Singing competition in Olsztyn. His co-operation with the Polish Television initially consisted in hosting the musical programmes entitled “Youth TV Screen.” Later, he was the Musical Manager of TV shows. In addition to creative work and writing, he produced stage shows, with the participation of popular singers, in 1973-1981. He also lectured and conducted music art workshops. After 1981, he signed contracts to work in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, and the USA.

During the XX century activity Marek Wieroński has been performing a number of social functions: member of the Verification Commission of the Ministry of Culture and Art; Vice Chairman of the STOMUR Association during three terms, and a co-founder of the Performing Artists’ Association STOART (SPAM, PSJ, and STOMUR), protecting the rights of the musicians of every genre: philharmonic, jazz or pop-music artists. As the President of the STOART Association (1995-1999), Marek Wieroński contributed to gaining membership in AEPO (Association of the European Performers’ Organisations) and expanded the STOART’s right protection package by inclusion of about 100,000 European musicians upon international contract negotiations. In 1998, he was appointed as an arbitrator of the Copyright Commission by the Minister of Culture and Art.

In the early 1990’s, Marek Wieroński was involved in symphonic music projects. He arranged the pieces by Chopin, Sting, and Modern Talking for an orchestra. They constituted repertoires of three albums recorded with the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra. One of these albums, Chopin Fantasy, became very successful. It was sold in several dozen thousands of copies in Japan. The work on that album became an inspiration to continue Chopin recordings, but based on the most authentic sheet music, complying with the composer’s will. The recordings relied on the National Edition of complete works by Chopin, edited by Prof. Jan Ekier. That source edition took into account all the available resources and modern research methods.

The idea of recording all the works by Chopin, using the monumental national edition, initiated the activity of Marek Wieroński as a producer and publisher of classical music albums. For that purpose, he founded an independent Record Company BeArTon in 1995. He started to co-operate with Prof. Jan Ekier, The Foundation for the National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin, and a group of outstanding artists, including pianists: Stanisław Bunin, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Janusz Olejniczak, Piotr Paleczny, Ewa Pobłocka, and Wojciech Świtała; violinists: Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Jakub Jakowicz, and Agata Szymczewska; cellists: Andrzej Bauer, Robert Cohen (from London), and Tomasz Strahl; singers: Adam Kruszewski, Olga Pasiecznik, Artur Ruciński, and Iwona Sobotka; groups: Ars Cantus, Aukso, Royal String Quartet, and the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra; conductors: Jacek Kaspszyk, Jan Łukaszewski, Jerzy Maksymiuk, and Marek Moś; choirs: The Polish Chamber Choir and The Polish Radio Choir.

High recording quality of the BeArTon albums is assured by world-class sound engineers : Julita Emanuiłow, Gabriela Blicharz, Andrzej Lupa, Lech Dudzik, and Zbigniew Kusiak. The label also co-operates with the Witold Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio and two presses: the Polish TAKT and the Austrian Sony DADC.