Andrey Alexandrovich Gorbachev is an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, Head of the Department of Guitar, Domra, and Balalaika at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, and a professor, as well as a renowned Russian balalaika performer and educator.
A. A. Gorbachev is a student of Honored Artist of Russia, Professor I. V. Inshakov (Specialized Music School «Music College» and the Rostropovich Voronezh Music College, 1988) and People’s Artist of the USSR, State Prize Laureate, Professor P. I. Necheporenko (Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, 1997).
He is a laureate of the «Northern Cup» International Competition (Cherepovets, 1992, Grand Prix) and the V. V. Andreev International Competition for Russian Folk Instrument Performers (Tver, 1993, 1st Prize). From 1990 to 2016, he performed as part of the «Classic-Duo» with Honored Artist of Russia T. P. Khaninova. Since 2011, he has been performing in jazz projects led by People’s Artist of Russia Denis Matsuev.
A. Gorbachev has performed before Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1992), Russian Presidents B. N. Yeltsin (1994) and V. V. Putin (2012), President of Switzerland Doris Leuthard (2010), and President of Finland Tarja Halonen (2010).
A. Gorbachev has significantly expanded the technical and artistic capabilities of the balalaika, developing new sound production techniques: single pizzicato across two and three strings, sliding, guitar-style pizzicato combined with pizz (1) and pizz (2), middle-finger pizzicato (pizz 3), and wide-position left-hand fingerings. A. Gorbachev introduced sound production methods specific to the upper register of the balalaika. At his suggestion, luthiers E. N. Vinogradov and V. V. Konvego created the first instruments with 31 frets.
A. Gorbachev began his teaching career in 1997 at the S. V. Rachmaninov Tambov State Music and Pedagogical Institute. Since 2000, he has been teaching at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. He became an Associate Professor in 2004 and has served as Head of the Department of String Folk Instruments (renamed the Department of Guitar, Domra, and Balalaika in 2024) at the Gnesin Academy. He was appointed Professor in 2010 and received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation in 2025. Among A. Gorbachev’s students are over 80 laureates of prestigious all-Russian and international competitions. Notably, his students have won all four All-Russian Music Competitions organized by the Ministry of Culture of Russia:
- 1st Prizes (I. Kuznetsov — 2013, O. Piskunov — 2017, N. Govorov — 2021, I. Popov — 2025);
- 2nd Prizes (O. Piskunov — 2013, A. Vrodlivets — 2017; N. Potapov and A. Tarasov — 2021);
- III prize winners (A. Vrodlivets, V. Dunaev — 2013; A. Nikolaychuk — 2017; N. Polosaev — 2025).
He maintains an active touring schedule, having performed over three thousand concerts across 70 regions of Russia and 20 countries. In 2017, he gave the first-ever solo balalaika recital at Carnegie Hall in New York (USA).
A. Gorbachev has premiered more than forty original works written for the balalaika.
Composers who have written works specifically for A. Gorbachev include: S. M. Slonimsky, E. I. Podgaits, M. B. Bronner, K. E. Volkov, A. I. Kusyakov, A. A. Tsygankov, A. G. Tikhomirov, A. G. Rogachev, M. I. Tsayger, T. A. Chudova, V. D. Zubitsky, E. P. Derbenko, V. V. Belyaev, O. V. Osipova, E. K. Kryuchkov, D. V. Zakharov, A. P. Isakova, and N. N. Khondo.
