(This biography was excerpted from Lev Ginsburg's Volume 3 of "The Art of the Violoncello" pp. 465–466, translated by Yuriy Leonovich).

Mark Ilyich Yampolsky’s fruitful teaching career spanned half a century. He was born on February 5, 1879, in Yekaterinoslav and passed away on February 18, 1951, in Moscow.

Yampolsky received his musical education at the Kyiv branch of the Russian Musical Society (RMO), enrolling in 1897 in the cello class of F. V. Mueller, a student of Karl Davydov. Under Mueller, Yampolsky absorbed the principles of the Davydov school and graduated in 1901. That same year, he began teaching in musical schools in Ukraine, including in Yekaterinoslav (1901–1903) and Poltava (1903–1904).

From 1905 to 1907, Yampolsky sought guidance from Jules Loëb (1852–1933), a professor at the Paris Conservatory. He then returned to Yekaterinoslav to continue his teaching career.

In 1910, Yampolsky moved to St. Petersburg and entered the Conservatory in the cello class of Professor E. F. Herbeck, graduating in 1913. From 1914 to 1918, he served as Herbeck’s assistant while also pursuing independent teaching and performing activities in symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles.

From 1921, Yampolsky's career unfolded in Moscow. Initially, he replaced Alexander Brandukov at the State Institute of Musical Drama (formerly the Philharmonic School). Later, he taught at several institutions, including the Rubinstein Music Technical School (now the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory, 1922–1951), the Scriabin Music School (1926–1929), and the Gnessin Music School (1928–1930). During this period, he also performed in the “Persimfans” (a conductorless orchestra) and occasionally appeared in chamber concerts.

In 1929, Yampolsky began teaching at the Workers’ Faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. A year later, following Brandukov’s death, he was appointed professor of cello at the Conservatory. From 1935, he also taught at the Central Music School.

Yampolsky was a teacher by vocation. His long pedagogical career was marked by exceptional dedication and love for his profession. He devoted all his energy and initiative to training young Soviet musicians. The author of this account, who studied under Yampolsky in the 1920s at the Rubinstein Technical School, recalls him as an untiring and talented musician-teacher who handled an incredible number of students while giving each one proper attention.

Among his students during those years were L. Adamov, Ya. Smolyansky, A. Stogorsky, I. Turich, N. Yutanov, R. Erdman, L. Marderovsky, and many others.

Graduates of Yampolsky's class at the Moscow Conservatory included laureates of All-Union and international competitions such as Ya. Slobodyanik (who had also studied with S. M. Kozolupov), A. Stogorsky, and Ya. Smolyansky (both of whom had previously studied with A. A. Brandukov), as well as I. Turich, N. Yutanov, M. Kaluzhsky, E. Gendlin, M. Khleboprasov, and others. B. Dobrokhotov, another student of Kozolupov, completed his postgraduate studies with Yampolsky.

In Soviet pedagogical literature, Yampolsky is known for his educational manual Cello Technique, first published in 1939.