In memoriam Alexandre Zapolski

Alexandre Zapolski was born in Odessa, Ukraine and graduated from the soloist class at the Ukrainian National Academy of Music in Kyiv.

Alexandre moved to Denmark in 1992, where he became a violinist in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and shortly afterwards founded the Zapolski Quartet. 

The quartet quickly established itself in the top league of Danish string quartets, and subsequently enjoyed great success with concerts and record releases in Denmark and abroad.

In 1993 Alexandre began work at Brøndby Music School, where he started a children’s string orchestra. Since then, Alexander’s work as a teacher of music has encompassed every level, from beginners (Copenhagen Municipal Music School), intermediate (preparatory class for music conservatories), and advanced, all the way to academy level. 

In 2003, Alexandre was appointed as a teacher at RDAM. In 2011 he was awarded the major Jacob Gade prize for his work with children and young people, and in 2012, the RDAM junior string players were established under his leadership.

Through his dedicated work, Alexandre has had an invaluable impact on the development of an impressively high standard among young string talents, and has been the direct cause of the success of a large number of Denmark’s best string players. 

RDAM is deeply grateful for Alexandre’s outstanding work, and he will be greatly missed by his students and colleagues.

Honoured be his memory. 

Helene Gjerris
President


An enthusiast has passed away
It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of our esteemed colleague, Alexandre Zapolski, on Friday 7 March. 

Alexandre was an outstanding violinist who always grabbed the audience’s attention with his personality and his captivating musicality.

For more than twenty years, Alexandre generously shared his musicianship and well-thought-out technical system with the younger generation of violinists, right from complete beginners to graduating students of the Academy’s soloist class. 

He worked tirelessly and with great educational knowledge to raise the standard of Danish violinists, and a constellation of young violinists of the very highest level who have been taught by him testifies to the significance he has had for violin playing and for musical life in Denmark. 

Alexandre will be greatly missed at the Academy, but in this sad time we can rejoice that his spirit lives on among many of the young violinists.

Honoured be his memory. 

Tim Frederiksen
Head of String Department