Oxana Yablonskaya was born in Moscow and began to study piano at the age of five. She showed such gifts that at six she was accepted at the Moscow Central School for Gifted Children. There she was put in the care of one of Russia's foremost teachers, Anaida Sumbatyan (who also taught Ashkenazy) with whom she worked until the age of 16. From then until she was 21, Yablonskaya studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Aleksandre Goldenweiser, the legendary pedagogue. At the age of 22, she studied with Tatiana Nikolayeva and began teaching as her assistant at the Moscow Conservatory. Following her graduation with highest honors, she was introduced to the Western world in Paris at the Long-Thibaud Competition in 1963, the Rio de Janeiro Competition in 1965, and at the Vienna Beethoven Competition in 1969. Winning top prizes at all three, she received scores of invitations to return for tours, but was never allowed to accept them. Although Miss Yablonskaya played everywhere in the Soviet Union and was a prize winner of three international competitions, she was never permitted to play outside of the Soviet Union or the Eastern Bloc countries. She recorded, nevertheless, for the Melodiya label and held the prestigious title of 'Soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic' along with such famous names as Richter, Gilels and Rostropovich among others. Outstanding soloist performances with the Bolshoi Orchestra at the Kremlin in the "Moscow Stars" series and at the special Shostakovich 65th Birthday Celebration Concert were confirmation of her "star pianist" status. In 1975,
