Episode 3

Accordionist Phil Cunningham travels to an infamous backstreet club in Paris, visits a gypsy suburb of Bucharest, plays in a Prague polka bar and is deeply moved by one of Moscow's finest musicians as he tells the story of 'the piano of the poor'.

Because of its portability, affordability and loudness, the accordion became the instrument of choice for many poor communities. Despite such humble origins the music they produced was often spectacularly successful.

Features performances from Mahala Rai Banda, Les Primitifs Du Futur, Marcel Azzola and Viatcheslav Semionov.