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Professor Oxana Yablonskaya

Oxana Yablonskaya (1).jpg

Oxana Yablonskaya’s charismatic piano playing and profound interpretations have brought her acclaim for over thirty years.  Known for her powerhouse virtuosity, exquisite sensitivity, and deep emotional drive, Ms. Yablonskaya has enchanted audiences world-wide. 

         Teaching Languages

         _ English, Russian

         Israel

         Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance

         

 

Oxana Yablonskaya was born in Moscow.  As an adolescent, she attended The Moscow Central School for the Gifted under the tutelage of great Anaida Sumbatyan,  with whom she worked until the age of 16.  She later studied at the Conservatory of Moscow with the legendary Aleksandre Goldenweiser.  At 22, she began a professional relationship with Tatiana Nikolayeva in the Doctorate Program, later acting as her assistant at the Moscow Conservatory.  Following graduation with high honors, she was introduced to the Western World in Paris at the Jacques Long-Thibaud Competition in 1963, the Rio de Janeiro Competition in 1965, and the Vienna Beethoven Competition in 1969.  She won top prizes in all three competitions and received numerous invitations for return engagements, but because of the Cold War, was not allowed to do so. 

While still in the USSR, Ms. Yablonskaya performed Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto #1 with the Moscow Philharmonic under conductor Yury Simonov at the Composers Jubilee Concert in the Kremlin.  She was the first performer to play Rodion Shchedrin’s “Basso Ostinato,” which became her signature piece.  Her status as a consummate professional was heightened by many prominent Soviet and foreign composers dedicating their music to her.

Despite the reputation she had earned within the Soviet Union and  being a prize winner of three international competitions, she was never permitted to play outside the Eastern Bloc.  .  Yet, she recorded for the Melodya label and had earned the prestigious title of Soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic.  The title put her in the company of elite artists such as Gilels, Richter, Rostropovich, Oistrakh, and Kogan. Outstanding solo performances with the Bolshoi Orchestra, the Moscow Stars series and the Shostakovich 65th Birthday Celebration Concert were confirmations of her remarkable talent.

In 1975, distressed over constant restraints on her personal and artistic freedom, she applied for a U.S. visa. Her actions resulted in a loss of her position as a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. She inherently was deprived of all concert engagements.  She waited more than two years for a visa and finally, she was allowed to leave the country with her father and young son due to the diligence and petitioning by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers, Katherine Hepburn, Bar Ilan, and over 45 famous writers, musicians, senators, and actors.

Ms. Yablonskaya arrived in New York in 1977, unknown, unheralded, and not having touched a piano in more than two years. She made her first New York appearance in a recital at the Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center only four months later and received laudatory acclaim from the press.  Her Carnegie Hall debut recital the following October was attended by a capacity crowd, and she has since taken her place among the major pianists of the world.

Once considered ‘The best kept secret of the Soviet Union,’ Ms. Yablonskaya has now performed in more than 40 countries. 

Following her triumph at her London recital debut in Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1982, the Daily Telegraph wrote: “Yablonskaya is the sort of pianist who accomplishes with ease and naturalness what others struggle for a lifetime to achieve.”  In 1986, following her Canadian performance with the National Symphony under conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, a music critic of the Toronto Star wrote, “She played Rachmaninoff’s 3rd as if it was written for her.”

Ms. Yablonskaya has emerged as one of the most compelling talents of her generation.  She has performed with many of the finest symphony orchestras in the world and with many of the leading conductors of our time.  An extraordinary recitalist, she is equally renowned for solo performances. In addition to Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, she has performed in the Royal Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Royal Concergebouw in Amsterdam, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Great Hall of St. Petersburgh Philharmonic, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Sheldonyan Theatre and Holywell Music Room in Oxford, England, Magador Theatre and Champs Elysees Hall in Paris, Opera House in Sidney, Municipal Theatre in Rio De Janeiro, Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Arts Center, Royal Thompson Hall in Toronto,92 street Y in New York, Osaka Arts Center and many more. 

Ms. Yablonskaya has collaborated in performances with such celebrated conductors as:

Alexander Dmitriev, Alexander Anissimov, Yury Aronovitch, Rudolf Barshai, Herbert Bloomstaadt, Boris Brott, Abraham Chavez, Sergiu Comissiona, Franz Paul Decker, Lawrence Foster, Youosh Forst, Pierro Gamba, Fedor Gluschenko, Inbal, Arnold Katz, Anton Kersies, Dmitry Kitaenko, Eric Klaas, Kirill Kondrashin,Uri Maier, Fuat Mansurov, Nathan Rakhlin, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Stanislaw Skrowachevsky, Pavel Sorokin, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Yuly Turowsky, Victor Yampolsky and many others.

 

In 1990, after a 13-year absence, Ms. Yablonskaya returned to Russia for a sold-out concert, master classes, and recitals at the Moscow Conservatory.  Since then she has returned on a regular basis and is once more recognized as an elite piano virtuoso in Russia.

In recent years, Ms. Yablonskaya has collaborated with her son, renowned cellist/conductor,2007 Grammy Award Nomineee Dmitry Yablonsky. Their concerts have enjoyed vast public and critical acclaim.  The New York Times called their Carnegie Hall debut, “A vibrant dialog.”  Their recordings together include duo performances for cello and piano as well as Khachaturian and Glasunov piano concertos recorded with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofieff, Brahms , Liszt 1st concertos, and Chopin 1st and 2nd Concertos with Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to her success as a concert pianist and recording artist, Ms. Yablonskaya has held the position of Professor of Piano at The Julliard School in New York City.  She has lectured numerous master classes at many distinguished music schools, academies, conservatories, and festivals throughout the world such as Newport and Bowdin in the USA, Flaine, and Tours in France, Lago Maggiore in Switzerland, Oxford Philomusica in England. Dr.Yablonskaya is a Co- Founder  of Puigcerda Musica Clasica International Festival in Spain since 1998, Gabala International Music Festival in Azerbaijan.

Ms. Yablonskaya made numerous editions of piano music by Cimarosa, Tchaikovsky, Lyadov, Balakirev, Gluck, Glinka, and others for International Music Company and currently continues her collaboration with this prestigious music publishing company.

Ms. Yablonskaya also serves on the jury of many international piano competitions such as Leeds in England, Franz Liszt in the Netherlands, Prokofiev in St.Petersburg, Russia, Hamamatsu in Japan, competitions in Taiwan, Andorra, at the Seiler International Piano Competition and Vladimir Horowitz International Piano Competition, Piano E-Competition in Minneapolis, Minn.  Jose Iturbi in Valencia, Parnassos in Monterrey, Mexico as well as  Sendai Competition in Japan and Beethoven Competition in Bonn, Jose Iturbi in Los Angeles, Lev Vlassenko in Brisbane, Grieg in Oslo and Bergen, Shanghai Competition among others.

Among her numerous recordings, Ms.Yablonskaya’s Liszt/Schubert CD won the Grand Prix du Disque from the International Liszt Society in Budapest.  In the December 1995 review of her Tchaikovsky CD, the American Record Guide wrote, “Oxana Yablonskaya is an artist who deserves to be heard and in any repertory she chooses.”

In March of 2006, Ms. Yablonskaya performed inaugural "Sold Out" recital in Carnegie Zankel Hall in New York marking the Founding of Chopin Society of New York of which she was appointed Vice -President and Music Director.

The 6 concert tour of France with a "Sold Out" concert in Paris's historical Magador Theatre followed immediately after, where Oxana Yablonskaya performed Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto with Orchestre National D'Ille de France.

After magnificent performance at Magador Theatre French critic Cyril Brun called Yablonskaya "Grand Tsarina of Russian piano who in an instant opened for us the whole Imperial Russia."

On December 15th of 2006 another “Sold Out “ “Oxana Yablonskaya and Friends “ event took place at Carnegie Zankel Hall, where Oxana and Dmitry Yablonsky performed Chopin’s Cello Sonata and Grand Polonaise and received standing ovations. Composer Lowell Liberman wrote after attending this concert:” Profound performance of this Sonata will stay in my memory for a long time”.

During this concert surprise ceremony took place – Oxana Yablonskaya was presented with a title of Honorary Academician of International Academy of the Arts at the United Nations, International Academy of the Arts in San Francisco and International Independent Academy of Liberal Arts in Moscow, Diplomas and Einstein Gold Medal for extraordinary achievements in the Arts. In October of 2008 Oxana Yablonskaya Piano Institute opened it’s doors in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana in Tuscany, Italy. The 2008 was marked by a 70th Birthday Jubilee Celebration of Oxana and all year she has been performing starting in Italy with New Years Day recital in Catania, then in Israel she performed Tchaikovsky 1st concerto four times, Grieg concerto in Turkey, solo recital in Tuscany and Master Classes in Hamamatsu Academy, Japan, judging  Liszt Competition in Utrecht, Jose Iturbi in Los Angeles, E-Piano Competition in Minneapolis, teaching in Spain, solo recital at MTNA in Los Angeles, Master Classes and chamber music concert in Nice, recording of Tchaikovsky “Seasons” and ”Album for the Young”. Two concerts on November 29th and December 1st were televised on National TV in Taiwan –Oxana performed Shostakovich 1st Concerto with National Symphony Orchestra in Taipei and Taichung.  The Grand conclusion of year long celebration took place on December 11th with the  Jubilee "Sold Out" Concert at Carnegie Zankel Hall in New York where Oxana Yablonskaya performed Beethoven 4th, Chopin 2nd, and Shostakovich 1st concerti and received a standing ovation.

In 2009 ,2011,2013,2016 Mme. Yablonskaya Presided at the  International Piano Competitions in Qabala, Azerbaijan, and performed with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Beethoven “Emperor” concerto#5.

In 2014 Professor Oxana Yablonskaya and her husband piano builder/technician Alexander Volchonok made a very significant move in their life - made alia to Israel. From October 2016 Dr. Yablonskaya has been invited to teach at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

In 2018 80th Birthday Celebration Concert took place at the Henry Krown Auditorium in Jerusalem. World renown artist performed the World Premiere of Happy Birthday Piano Concerto written for and dedicated to Oxana Yablonskaya by a n israeli Composer Alex Wasserman, Chopin Second concerto and Tchaikovsky Second concerto!

In 2019-2020 Dr. Prof. Yablonskaya revived Oxana Yablonskaya Piano Institute in Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, due to the Covid 19 pandemic crisis the Master Classes were put on hold until the quarantine world wide would end and the studies resume.

 

Mme. Yablonskaya served as a judge Sendai International Piano Competition in 2019.

 

Oxana Yablonskaya is a Yamaha Artist and Artistic Advisor for Yamaha Master Classes in New York City. 

奥克萨娜·亚布隆斯卡娅魅力非凡的演奏风格和对音乐深刻而独到的诠释令她从业三十多年饱受赞誉。她凭借精湛的艺术鉴赏力、敏锐的敏感度和深厚的情感动力而闻名于世。她出生在莫斯科。青少年时期,她在伟大的阿奈达·松巴提安(Anaida Sumbatyan)的指导下进入莫斯科中央天才学校(Moscow Central School for The Gifted)学习,直到16岁时,她一直在他门下求学。后来,她在莫斯科音乐学院与传奇人物亚历山大·金维瑟(Aleksandre goldweiser)学习。22岁时,她跟随塔蒂亚娜·尼古拉耶娃(Tatiana Nikolayeva)修读博士学业,后来在莫斯科音乐学院担任其的助理。在她以优异成绩毕业后,她分别在1963年巴黎雅克·隆·蒂博比赛,1965年的巴西里约热内卢比赛和1969年的维也纳贝多芬比赛斩获佳绩,并为西方世界所熟知。 

 

除了作为一名成功的音乐会钢琴家和录音艺术家外,亚布隆斯卡娅教授还在纽约市茱莉亚音乐学院担任钢琴教授。她曾在世界各地的许多著名音乐学校和音乐节上开设课程,自1998年起她开始担任西班牙普奇塞达古典国际音乐节和阿塞拜疆加巴拉国际音乐节的联合创始人。 

 

亚布隆斯卡娅教授为国际音乐公司录制了柴可夫斯基、格鲁克、格林卡等音乐家诸多版本的钢琴专辑,目前仍在同这个著名的音乐出版机构合作。亚布隆斯卡娅教授还担任过许多国际钢琴比赛的评委,例如如英国利兹,弗朗兹·李斯特,俄罗斯圣彼得堡普罗科菲耶夫,日本滨松,台湾赛勒国际钢琴比赛,安道尔赛勒国际钢琴比赛和弗拉基米尔·霍洛维茨国际钢琴比赛、墨西哥帕纳索斯钢琴比赛,日本仙台的贝多芬比赛,波恩若泽·伊图尔比钢琴比赛,布里斯班的列夫·弗拉森科钢琴比赛,奥斯陆的格里格和卑尔根,上海钢琴大赛等知名赛事。 

 

从2016年10月起,亚布隆斯卡娅教授被邀请在耶路撒冷音乐与舞蹈学院任教。2018年她的80岁生日庆典音乐会在耶路撒冷的亨利·克朗礼堂举行,在这场演出中,以色列作曲家亚历克斯·瓦色尔曼为奥萨娜·亚布隆斯卡娅创作的《生日快乐钢琴协奏曲》全球首演,2019至2020年,亚布隆斯卡娅教授教授在加州洛杉矶创立了奥克萨娜·亚布隆斯卡娅钢琴学院。 

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