Mikhail Anatolyevich Gorobtsov, born in 1956, began his musical career in 1971 when he enrolled in the October Revolution Music and Pedagogical College, studying the domra under M. V. Butneva. In 1977, he successfully auditioned for the Academic Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments of the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, conducted by N. N. Nekrasov. He soon became the concertmaster of the alto domra section and a soloist of the orchestra. In 1987, he graduated fr om the Gnesin State Musical Pedagogical Institute (class of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, Professor V. Kruglov).
During his fifteen years with the State Television and Radio Orchestra, M. Gorobtsov was a permanent member of the domra quartet, which was formed within the orchestra.
In 1992, M. A. Gorobtsov was invited to join the N. P. Osipov National Academic Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments, conducted by N. N. Kalinin, as concertmaster of the alto domra section and orchestra soloist.
His work in this position opened a new chapter in Russian national instrumental art: for the first time in the orchestra’s 80-year history, the alto domra became a solo concert instrument in his hands.
M. Gorobtsov successfully convinced talented composers of the need to create an original repertoire for the alto domra. Masters such as M. Bronner, N. Peiko, E. Podgaits, A. Larin, T. Sergeyeva, Y. Semashko, S. Slonimsky, A. Rogachev, V. Peshnyak, K. Volkov, I. Krasilnikov, E. Derbenko, V. Gorodovskaya, I. Tamarin, and many others wrote works specifically for Mikhail Gorobtsov. Some of these works have already been published in seven collections titled «From the Repertoire of M. Gorobtsov» and are in high demand among concert performers and musical institutions across Russia.
Mikhail Anatolyevich Gorobtsov began his pedagogical career in 1992 at the October Revolution Music and Pedagogical College (now the A. G. Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music), wh ere he taught until 2024. There, for the first time in the history of the folk instrument genre, he established an alto domra class to train professional performers. Since 2008, he has been teaching the alto domra at the Department of String Folk Instruments (now the Department of Guitar, Domra, and Balalaika) at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music. Over his years of teaching, many of his students and graduates have become laureates of All-Russian and international competitions, continuing their professional careers in prestigious musical ensembles throughout Russia.
He has a long history of victories at numerous festivals and competitions. At the young performers competition for musical ensembles of the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, the alto domra in M. Gorobtsov’s hands was featured for the first time alongside academic string instruments. The result — a first prize — enabled M. Gorobtsov to become a soloist with the Academic Orchestra of Russian Folk Instruments.
Another victory at the All-Russian Competition in 1986 (Second Prize) provided M. Gorobtsov with the opportunity to perform solo concerts fr om Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, as well as abroad in prestigious concert halls, such as the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and Carnegie Hall (New York).
The artist’s creative uniqueness is vividly expressed in the original repertoire he created for the alto domra and the Russian folk instrument orchestra, which significantly changed the perception of the orchestra’s sonic capabilities. His many years of work as a section leader and soloist (over 20 years) allowed him to produce dozens of fascinating arrangements, distinguished by unconventional solutions and originality of sound. Composers such as Sergei Slonimsky, Sofia Gubaidulina, Anatoly Kusyakov, and Rodion Shchedrin entrusted him with the orchestration of their works.
His work in this field led M. Gorobtsov in 2010 to the Department of Musicology and Composition at the Ippolitov-Ivanov State Musical Pedagogical Institute, wh ere he became a lecturer in orchestration for folk orchestras.
Extensive creative research in collaboration with master instrument makers led to the creation of a more advanced type of domra, which M. Gorobtsov himself calls the «large domra», successfully combining the advantages of the alto domra with the merits of the soprano (small) domra. Thanks to this reconstruction, the large (alto) domra has been recognized by the wider musical community as a solo concert instrument.
Mikhail Gorobtsov is the creator of a pedagogical and concert repertoire for the alto (large) domra. The «Muzyka» publishing house has released a series of seven collections titled «From the Repertoire of Mikhail Gorobtsov.»
Publications:
- Gorobtsov, M. A. On Articulation and Bowing: Segmentation or the Process of Performance? — Moscow: A. Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music, 2013 — 84 p.;
- Gorobtsov, M. A. A Few Words on the Art of Performing Music. Interpretation or the Amplitude of the Performer’s Creative Thinking in the Articulation of a Musical Image? — IP Ilyin A. V., 2026 — 136 p.
M. Gorobtsov is a member of the Expert Council of the Interregional Public Organization «Professional Community of National Academic Performing Arts».
Among achievements and awards:
- Full Member of the Academy of Folk Music;
- «Honored Artist of the Russian Federation» (awarded February 18, 1994);
- Medal «In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow» (awarded February 28, 1997);
- «People’s Artist of the Russian Federation» (awarded November 21, 2001);
- Professor (since 2006);
- Medal «95 Years of DOSAAF» (awarded 2022).
