Mikhail Anatolyevich Gorobtsov was born in 1956. He began his musical career in 1971, entering the Music and Pedagogical College named after the «October Revolution» to study domra with M. V. Butneva.
In 1977 he was accepted by audition into the Academic Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments of Gosteleradio USSR under N. N. Nekrasov. He soon became section leader of the alto domra group and a soloist with the orchestra. In 1987 he graduated from the Gnesin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute (class of Professor V. Kruglov).
For fifteen years at Gosteleradio, Gorobtsov was a permanent member of the domra quartet founded within the Academic Orchestra.
In 1992 he was invited to the N. P. Osipov National Academic Russian Folk Orchestra as principal alto domra and soloist under N. N. Kalinin.
His work in this position opened a new chapter in Russian national instrumental art: for the first time in the orchestra’s eighty‑year history, the alto domra in his hands became a full‑fledged concert solo instrument.
Gorobtsov has persuaded many leading composers of the need to create original repertoire for the alto domra. Composers such as M. Bronner, N. Peiko, Ye. Podgaits, A. Larin, T. Sergeyeva, Yu. Semashko, S. Slonimsky, A. Rogachyov, V. Peshnyak, K. Volkov, I. Krasilnikov, Ye. Derbenko, V. Gorodovskaya, I. Tamarin and many others have written works especially for him. Several of these pieces have already been published in seven volumes of «Fr om the Repertoire of M. Gorobtsov» and are widely used by concert performers on alto domra and in music institutions throughout Russia.
His teaching career began in 1994 at the Music and Pedagogical Institute named after A. G. Schnittke, wh ere, for the first time in the history of the folk‑instrument field, he opened an alto domra class to train professional performers.
He has won many festival and competition prizes. At the Young Performers Competition among ensembles of Gosteleradio USSR, the alto domra in his hands was heard for the first time together with string instruments of the academic tradition. The result was First Prize, which enabled Gorobtsov to become a soloist of the Academic Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments.
Another success, Second Prize at the All‑Russian Competition in 1986, led to solo recital engagements from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok and abroad in prestigious concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Carnegie Hall in New York.
His highly individual artistry is manifest in an original repertoire for alto domra and Russian folk orchestra that has significantly altered perceptions of the orchestra’s sound possibilities. Many years as section leader and soloist (more than twenty) have allowed him to create dozens of striking orchestrations notable for their unconventional solutions and distinctive sonorities. Composers such as Sergei Slonimsky, Sofia Gubaidulina, Anatoly Kusyakov and Rodion Shchedrin have entrusted him with orchestrating their works for folk orchestra.
His work in this field led, in 2008, to a teaching position in orchestration for folk orchestra at the Department of Musicology and Composition of the M. M. Ippolitov‑Ivanov State Music and Pedagogical Institute.
Long‑term collaboration with instrument makers has resulted in the creation of a more advanced type of domra which Gorobtsov himself calls the large domra, successfully combining the advantages of the alto domra with the qualities of the smaller instrument. Owing to this redesign, the large (alto) domra has been recognised by the musical community as a solo concert instrument.
He is a member of the expert council of the Interregional Public Organisation «Professional Community of National Academic Performing Artists».
He is a full member of the Academy of Folk Music, an Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation (decree of 18 February 1994).
He has been awarded the medal «In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow» (28 February 1997).
He holds the title People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (since 21 November 2001).
He has been Professor at the Moscow State Institute of Music named after A. G. Schnittke since 2006.
