Konstantyn Napolov
Born in 1987, Konstantyn Napolov is one of the most outstanding percussionists of our time. A passionate pioneer and promoter of new music, he works closely with leading composers. He is in demand internationally for solo concerts and percussion concerts with orchestra, as an artist in residence in chamber music projects and as a jury member at important competitions. Performing throughout Europe and beyond, he plays repertoire and instruments from all over the world and throughout music history.
Napolov is constantly searching for new and unheard sounds – from subtle to powerful and overwhelming – and is always involved in a variety of projects. He loves to challenge himself and the composers he works with to push the boundaries of playing techniques and explore the sonic possibilities of percussion instruments to the utmost. Among the many composers who have written new works especially for him are Maxim Shalygin, Tansy Davies, Christiaan Richter, Jan-Peter de Graaff, Moritz Eggert, Martijn Padding, Aart Strootman, Robin de Raaff and Klas Torstensson. Artists such as Kaija Saariaho, David Lang, Louis Andriessen, John Luther Adams, Unsuk Chin and Philip Manoury have also collaborated with him. He worked with Steve Reich on the performance of his masterpiece Music for 18 musicians for 5000 listeners in the Netherlands. To promote the Dutch percussion repertoire, he established his own foundation, the Dutch Golden Collection Foundation. He has now realised over 50 world premieres.
Together with pianist Laura Sandee and cellist Maya Fridman, the percussionist forms a permanent ensemble and commissions new works for their unusual combination of instruments. He also enjoys developing new percussion instruments, such as Eva, which was created in collaboration with artist Rob van den Broek for a solo piece by Remy Alexander. As a soloist, Napolov has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, the Asko|Schönberg ensemble, the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, among others. Since 2014, he has been principal timpanist with the Mannheim Philharmonic. He has recorded several CDs in collaboration with the TRPTK label since 2018.
Napolov studied percussion and conducting in Kyiv before completing his training in The Hague in 2015 with distinction under Fedor Teunisse, Luuk Nagtegaal, Hans Zonderop and Wim Vos. With an Erasmus scholarship, he studied in Strasbourg, the mecca of percussion, under Emmanuel Séjourné. Masterclasses took him to the Centre for Advanced Musical Studies in Chosen Vale (USA) and, with the prestigious Colin Currie Scholarship, to the Juilliard School in New York and the Boston Conservatory. He also attended masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Peter Sadlo, Mark Pekarski, Christian Dierstein, Paul Mootz, Marta Klimasara, Robyn Schulkowsky and Nancy Zaltsman. He has won numerous prizes, reached final rounds and received nominations in competitions such as the ARD Music Competition in Munich, the TROMP International Percussion Competition in Eindhoven, the Internationaal Kamermuziekconcours Almere, the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg, the Oh Oh Intro Festival in The Hague, Dutch Classical Talent, the Grachtenfestival Competition and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurprijs.
In 2021, Napolov was selected by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to represent Dutch culture in Egypt as an artist in residence and to tour with renowned musician and composer Ahmed Saleh. He also had the honour of performing with the show percussion group Percossa in front of the Dutch government and the royal family. Napolov is an official artist for Adams, Zildjian, Vic Firth, Mike Balter Mallets and the TRPTK label.
