Early years
Born into music
Vladimir Jablokov grew up in Bratislava in a family where music was simply part of everyday life. Both of his parents were professional violinists, and all six Jablokov children were handed a musical instrument from a young age. His father, Alexander, was a touring solo violinist and lecturer at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, while his mother, Katarína, combined raising the family with her own musical career.
Vladimir formally began learning the violin at six. From there, the path seemed almost predetermined. Years of lessons, practice and classical training led him from the conservatoire to the Academy of Performing Arts, following a long family tradition.
But by eighteen, something had changed. After spending most of his childhood being told when, what and how to play, Vladimir was no longer certain that music was the life he wanted. What had always been part of him had gradually begun to feel like an obligation.
At nineteen, he made a decision that would change everything. He left the Academy, packed a backpack and left Bratislava for Ireland with no intention of pursuing a music career.
Milestones
AGE 6 · 1991
The violin begins
Vladimir formally begins learning the violin in Bratislava, following in the footsteps of a family of professional musicians.
AGE 19 · 2004
A new life in Ireland
Vladimir leaves Bratislava for Ireland with no English and a violin on his back, but without any intention of pursuing a music career.
2004 – 2007
From the street to the stage
Busking begins as a necessity, but playing for people rekindles Vladimir’s love of music. From the streets of Dublin, he gradually finds his way back to the concert stage.
2009
A family reunited
Vladimir reunites his family on stage and, year by year, the concerts grow into increasingly ambitious productions, reaching Dublin’s 3Arena in 2022.
2025
Coming home
More than twenty years after leaving Bratislava, Vladimir returns to his hometown in December 2025 to headline TIPOS Aréna.
Ireland
From Grafton Street to the concert hall
Ireland was supposed to be a fresh start away from music. But with little money and few options, Vladimir soon found himself doing the one thing he knew he could do: playing the violin. He turned to busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street, and what began as a temporary way of earning money became a turning point that would shape his approach to performing.
Street performing was unlike anything his classical training had prepared him for. Vladimir learned to read a crowd, change a piece in the moment and, above all, give people a reason to stop and listen.
For the first time, he was playing without being told what or how to play. That freedom, and the immediate connection with people on the street, gradually brought back the enjoyment he had lost. What started out of necessity became his way back to music.
From Grafton Street came private performances, weddings and eventually his own concerts. The audiences grew, the venues became bigger and the productions more ambitious, but the instinct Vladimir discovered on the street remained the same: play for the people in front of you, and give them a reason to stop and listen.
Music that lives in the moment
Today, Vladimir’s concerts bring together the music he grew up with and the freedom he discovered on the street — from classical favourites and folk traditions to popular songs and spontaneous improvisation.
Whatever the stage, the instinct remains the same: play for the people in front of you, respond to the moment and never perform the same concert twice.
