“a technique as impressive as ever... Being perfectly able to manipulate the keyboard however she wants, Yablonskaya knows when to take risks and when to pull back and let the music speak for itself.” - Chicago Sun-Times
Pianist Oxana Yablonskaya delivers charismatic performances and profound interpretations that garner worldwide acclaim. Celebrated for her powerhouse virtuosity, exquisite sensitivity, and deep emotional drive, “Yablonskaya is a mixture of passion, power and poetry.” (Toronto Star) With a storied career that spans more than half a century, Yablonskaya performs with “a technique as impressive as ever... Being perfectly able to manipulate the keyboard however she wants, Yablonskaya knows when to take risks and when to pull back and let the music speak for itself.” (Chicago Sun-Times)
An American-Israeli pianist born in Moscow, Yablonskaya launched her career by winning top prizes in the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud Competition in 1963, Rio de Janeiro Piano Competition in 1965 and the Vienna Beethoven Competition in 1969. Yablonskaya was invited to perform as soloist and with orchestras in concert halls in the West during the 1960s and 1970s, but was never allowed to accept invitations. She performed throughout the USSR and made numerous recordings on the Melodya label. She was named a "Soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic" and was highly active as a soloist with the Bolshoi Orchestra. Frustrated by the limitations of her artistic freedom, she emigrated to the United States in 1977, but only after two years of waiting as “Refusnik” stripped of her job at the Moscow Conservatory and concert career. 75 prominent musicians, actors, composers, and senators, including Leonard Bernstein, Kathryn Hepburn, Shelly Winters, Henry Miller, Isaak Bashevis-Singer (Nobel Prize Winner) and even President Carter appealed to the Soviet government to let her leave. Her Carnegie Hall debut recital the following October was attended by a capacity crowd and deemed “a vibrant dialogue.” (The New York Times) As "one of the country's most distinguished musical residents," (New York Times) she has since taken her place among the major pianists of the world.
Yablonskaya taught as a member of the piano faculty at the Juilliard School for more than 25 years, has toured in concerts and recitals throughout the world, and has made numerous, acclaimed recordings. She is a recipient of the Einstein Medal for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts, Winner of Grand Prix du Disque from the Liszt Society in Budapest for her recording of music by Schubert-Liszt and Liszt, and is an Honorary Academician of the International Academy of the Arts at the United Nations, International Academy of the Arts in San Francisco, and Independent Academy of Liberal Arts at the Russian Academy of Sciences. In addition to her concertizing and teaching, Yablonskaya made editions for International Music Co. in New York. Yablonskaya now lives in Israel and teaches at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She continues to dazzle audiences throughout Israel and abroad.