Representation: Performances as soloist with orchestra
Contact:
E: leontien.vandervliet@interartists.nl
T: +31 6 5 24 68 707
Live world première performance at the Berlin Konzerthaus with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Vladimir Jurovski
Konstantyn Napolov (1987) is one of today’s most outstanding percussionists. An impassioned pioneer and promoter of new music, he closely cooperates with leading composers.
Internationally, he is in great demand both for solo recitals and percussion concertos with orchestra, as artist in residence in chamber music projects, and as a jury member in important competitions.
In performances throughout Europe and beyond, he plays repertoire and instruments from all over the world and the entire music history. He astonishes audiences and the press alike with the imaginative power of his playing and his virtuosity.
Constantly in search of new and unheard sounds, from the most subtle to the most powerful and overwhelming, Konstantyn 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 to explore the sound possibilities of percussion instruments to the utmost.
The many composers who have written new work especially for him, always in close collaboration, include Maxim Shalygin, Tansy Davies, Christiaan Richter, Jan-Peter de Graaff, Moritz Eggert, Martijn Padding, Aart Strootman, Robin de Raaff and Klas Torstensson.
In November 2025 Konstantyn performed the two movement percussion concerto Master & Servant by Moritz Eggert at the Impuls Festival at Theatre Magdeburg. The Live world première performance followed at the Berlin Konzerthaus, 8 March 2026, with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB) and onductor Vladimir Jurowski. Other highligts as soloist were with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, The Hague’s Residentie Orkest, Asko|Schönberg ensemble, the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, among others, and he has been the principal timpanist of the Mannheimer Philharmoniker (Germany) since 2014.
Konstantyn forms a permanent ensemble with pianist Laura Sandee and cellist Maya Fridman and commissions new work for their unusual combination of instruments. Together with Ensemble De Ereprijs he performed a marathon of percussion pieces written by five international composers: Moritz Eggert (D), Ching Alice Yeung (CN/NL), Martin Fondse (NL) and Martín Francisco Mayo (VES/VS/NL).
In September 2026 Konstantyn’s new CD - Pictures from One’s Exhibition, will appear on the 7 Mountain Records label. The recording is centered around a bold new arrangement by Marlijn van Prooijen and Konstantyn Napolov, performed by acclaimed pianist Ralph van Raat, violinist Merel Vercammen and Napolov on more than 60 percussion instruments from around the world.
Konstantyn Napolov was educated as a percussionist and conductor in Kyiv. In The Hague, he completed his studies with Fedor Teunisse, Luuk Nagtegaal, Hans Zonderop, and Wim Vos with honours in 2015. He was selected for the Erasmus programme by the conservatoire in the city with the world’s oldest percussion traditions, Strasbourg’s Cité de la Musique et de la Danse, where he studied with percussion legend Emmanuel Séjourné.
In 2015, he was invited to participate in masterclasses at the famous Center for Advanced Musical Studies in Chosen Vale (US) and awarded a prestigious Colin Currie scholarship to attend courses at New York’s Juilliard School and the Boston Conservatory. In addition, he took masterclasses with many well-known musicians, including Peter Sadlo, Mark Pekarski, Christian Dierstein, Paul Mootz, Marta Klimasara, Robyn Schulkowsky, and Nancy Zaltsman.
Konstantyn has been successful at international competitions, both as a soloist and with his ensembles. He won first and other prizes, places in finals, and nominations at ARD Musikwettbewerb München, TROMP Percussion Eindhoven, Kamermuziekconcours Almere, IPC Luxembourg, Oh Oh Intro The Hague, Dutch Classical Talent, the Belgrade International Competition, the Grachtenfestival Competition, and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurprijs.
