Vladimir Jablokov and his Slovak Festival Orchestra
Personal Facts
- Born in 1985 as a third child in the family of six children.
- Started playing violin at the age of five.
- Is the fourth generation of his family to make music his career.
- Since 1995 he has performed regularly on concert stages in Slovakia, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Ireland, Italy.
- 2003 took a one year break from music but the music bug got him back on track soon.
- Formed The Slovak Dulcimer Ensemble at the age of nineteen in 2004.
- In 2005 he recorded a CD called Eastern Twilight with the Slovak Dulcimer Ensemble.
- In 2006 after the success of his first CD, he recorded Eastern Twilight II with the Slovak Dulcimer Ensemble.
- In 2006 he formed The Slovak Festival Orchestra.
- In 2007 he recorded a CD with the string section of The Slovak Festival Orchestra called The First National Tour.
- His concerts in Ireland have taken him to The Mansion House, Leinster House, Gaiety Theatre, RDS Concert Hall, The National Concert Hall, Marlay Park , and by the special request of President Mary McAleese he performed in Aras an Uachtarain.
- In August 2008, he played and directed the Slovak Festival Orchestra at the biggest classical outdoor venue of the year in Marlay Park.
Vladimir Jablokov, Ten Quick Questions
What is your biggest pleasure besides music?
Race cars, as I was always addicted to speed.
Who are your favourite artists?
Since I mix different styles in my music it varies from Jasha Heifetz to Stephane Grapelli.
Who would you like to be compared to?
Anybody, who is better than me. In reality it means that I wouldn’t like to be compared to a cheap-effect artists and their artificial performances.
Favourite food?
Leg of Lamb.
Best way of relaxing?
It has to be fishing. I have been fishing since the age of five and its the best way to get away from the everyday busy lifestyle I lead.
Dream car?
Subaru Imprezza STI. I have driven the Imprezza a couple of times and I always fall in love again and again.
Life creed?
Do what you like to do. Its one of the safest ways to stay happy even if its not always the easiest way.
Most expensive thing you own?
My violin. And I don’t mean the actual price of the instrument.
Best place to live?
Anywhere I can meet good people so it’s basically everywhere.
What is your never?
I would never prefer a commercial aspects over the quality.
A no strings attachment to busking on Grafton Street
Forget perfect fifths, this in-tune Slovakian found his perfect fit in Ireland, writes Andrea Smith.
While most buskers are happy to find a few euros in the hat at the end of the day, tousle headed Vladimir Jablokov from Bratislava in Slovakia managed to bag himself a wife while playing violin on Grafton Street.
"A lot of people came to see us play every day, and Justina was one of the fans," he explains. "One day I found a letter from her in the money box addressed to "The Curly Boy," but I didn't call her and I didn't know even which one she was – we used to get a lot of letters!"
When Vladimir went home for two weeks, the Lithuanian Justina feared he was gone for good, so when he returned, she immediately asked him to go for a coffee.
"She was very nice and I liked her, but I had a girlfriend already", he explains. "We finished two months later, and I went straight into a relationship with Justina, and we were married eight months later. It was all very fast, and now we have a 22-month-old daughter, Dominika".
The extremely charming and personable Vladimir, 23, grew up in a household where his parents Alexander and Katarina, sister Olga, 25, and brothers Andrej, 26, Anton, 18, Alexander, 16 and Viktor, 15, are all musicians, which meant that there was always somebody playing or practising in the house.
"Our neighbours were going mad, because it was 24/7", he smiles.
Despite his obvious passion for music, Vladimir fell out of love with it for a period, and at 18, decided that he wanted to give up playing the violin. He took a year out of his music studies at university, which greatly upset his Russian father, a professor of violin.
"My dad didn't talk to me for a year when I said I want to quit and do something else, because as children, we didn't really get a choice about doing music", he says. "It was partly down to me too as I didn't call him when I came to Ireland, and he didn't know what was happening with me. He was sending me emails, and eventually we made up".
Vladimir intended to stay in Dublin for three months, a city chosen purely because his cousin was already living here, and he thought he would support himself by getting a job.
"I was only planning to bring my fishing rod and sleeping bag with me, thinking I would survive somehow, but the reality was a bit different," he says. "I didn't have any English, so nobody was that keen to employ me."
When he found himself unable to pay his second month's rent, Vladimir began playing on Grafton Street with a friend, making enough to cover the bills, and rediscovering his passion for music and performing. Things really took off when he formed the Slovak Festival Quartet with three friends in 2006, a group that expands to form the 48-piece Slovak Festival Orchestra for big performances.
Invitations began to come thick and fast, including one to play for President Mary McAleese at Aras an Uachtarain.
Now Vladimir is seeing a lot more of his family, as six of them are employed by the orchestra, including both of his parents. This gives the mischievous conductor and soloist a kick, particularly in the case of his father, his former teacher and the orchestra's principal violinist.
"He is a very ordered, and our music is a different style as we perform classical music in a ways that appeals to all ages," says Vladimir, who received a 15-minute standing ovation while performing with Irish soprano Celine Byrne at the National Concert Hall earlier this year.
The next major appearance of the orchestra is at Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Park, a family fun day that will be attended by an estimated 20,000 people. Presented by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the event at Marlay Park will include appearances by Celine Byrne and tenor Sean Costello, as well as movies on the big screen, Family events and fireworks.
"Life is extremely busy these days, and people laugh at me because I was the laziest person ever back in Slovakia, always out fishing, rollerblading and doing extreme sports," he says. "I am very happy with my life here and now, even my father says I did the right thing!"
This Interview was published on the 10th of August 2008 (just one week before the concert in Marlay Park) in Sunday Independent.