Andrei Gorbachev Balalaika   

Andrei Gorbachev was born in Voronezh, Russia and began studying the balalaika at age five. In 1988, he completed his musical studies at the local music school, where he worked with I-V.Inshakov. He then moved to Moscow and enrolled in the Gnessin Academy of Music, where he completed graduate (1994) and post-graduate studies (1997), under the guidance of Professor P-I. Necheporenko. He has since won several prestigious music competitions and is considered one of the foremost virtuosos on the balalaika today. Among his many high-profile performances include a concert before Queen Elizabeth II in 1992. Andrei is currently a professor of balalaika performance at the Tambov Rachmaninov Academy of Music, as well as the balalaika department chair at the Gnessin Academy of Music. We are very pleased to feature this accomplished performer here at the Classical Archives.