Martin Kaptein

Martin Kaptein - Biography

Martin Kaptein is a Dutch classical pianist currently based in Germany. His artistic work combines piano performance and research, with a particular focus on philosophical connections within the piano repertoire. In 2026, his work focused on the relationship between earlier and later traditions in classical music, including research into parallels between Beethoven, Schubert, and Scriabin. Martin was invited to present this project across venues in Europe, the U.S., and China.

In 2020 Martin founded the Scriabin Club, an international platform dedicated to the music, thought, and artistic legacy of Alexander Scriabin. The project has grown into a worldwide network of cultural organizations, musicians and researchers. Its activities include concerts, lectures, publications, translations, research projects, and the creation of a space for dialogue on art and culture. The Scriabin Club has collaborated with the Scriabin Society of America and the Scriabin Association in the United Kingdom in organizing international Scriabin festivals in 2022 and 2026.

Martin has won several international piano competitions, including the First Prize at the renowned St. Cecilia Piano Competition in Porto (2015) and First Prize at the International Competition in Athens (2017). He regularly performs at music festivals such as recently the Katowice Piano Festival in Poland, the Bilzen Piano Festival in Belgium, and the Festival of Contemporary Music in Bolzano, Italy, where he took part in the world premiere of 11,000 Strings by Georg Friedrich Haas.

He worked together with Michail Markov (Russia), Frank van de Laar (Netherlands), Vitaly Samoshko (Ukraine), and Alessandra Giorgia Brustia (Italy). In 2022 he graduated cum laude as a Master of Music from the Tilburg Conservatory in the Netherlands. In 2026 Martin graduated from the Monteverdi Conservatory in Bolzano, Italy receiving a cum laude distinction for both his piano performance as well as his research.

Alongside his solo work, Martin is active as a chamber musician and accompanist. He has collaborated extensively with singers and instrumentalists and has worked as a vocal accompanist at Dutch conservatories. In recent years he has also been repeatedly invited as a jury member and official pianist at competitions such as Jugend musiziert, the European Romance Festival in Hamburg, and the Concorso Internazionale della Canzone in San Marino.

In addition to his artistic and research activity, Martin currently holds a full-time position as a music educator at a publicly funded institution for music education in Germany. His work includes piano instruction, preparation of students for competitions, and the development of advanced courses in music theory and composition.