Dmitry Yablonsky, a GRAMMY-nominated cellist and conductor, was born in Moscow into a musical family. He began playing the cello when he was five years old and was accepted into the Central Music School for Gifted Children. At the age of nine he made his orchestral debut playing Haydn’s Cello Concerto. Since then his career has taken him to some of the most celebrated stages in the world, such as Carnegie Hall, La Scala, Moscow Conservatory’s Great Hall, St Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Taiwan National Hall, Théâtre Mogador, Cité de la Musique and the Louvre, among others.
As a conductor he has collaborated with many major orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Novaya Rossiya, Kyiv Virtuosi, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, North Netherlands Orchestra, Limburgs Symfonie Orkest, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Île de France, National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan, Catania Opera Orchestra, Holland Symfonia and the Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (OFUNAM), Mexico.
In 2010 Yablonsky received the Diploma of Honorary Academician at the Independent Academy of Liberal Arts at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He has transcribed and edited works for cello, which have been published by the International Music Company and Dover Publications. In 2008 Naxos released his recording of all 40 of Popper’s Études for solo cello (8.557718–19), to critical acclaim. He teaches at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, Israel and was appointed Head of International Relations in 2017.
He is an enthusiastic and charismatic character that leads him to initiate many projects and organise many festivals. These events have taken place in a variety of countries such as Israel, Italy, Russia and the United States, and include the Qabala Music Festival in Azerbaijan and the Wandering Stars Music Festival in Israel, of which he has been artistic director since 2019. He plays two cellos, a Joseph Guarnerius filius Andrea and a Matteo Goffriller.