Alexander Melnikov
Influenced by Sviatoslav Richter in his younger years, Alexander Melnikov became interested in the fortepiano and has devoted much of his career to historical performances. He is also an enthusiastic chamber music performer on both the fortepiano and the modern piano.
Melnikov was born in Moscow in 1973. A child prodigy, he performed Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1, at the age of 12. He encountered Richter as a youth and was invited by him to perform at festivals in Russia and abroad. Melnikov entered the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with Lev Naumov. More unusually, he became interested in historical performance, still a rarity in Russia in the early '90s, at age 18. He studied in that field with Alexei Lubimov, a Russian pioneer in historical performance, and with Andreas Staier, who became a frequent collaborator; the pair has often performed the 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano of Shostakovich, with Melnikov on piano, and Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, with Staier on harpsichord. His recording debut came on the modern piano in 1996; he backed cellist Leonid Gorokhov on an album devoted to cello-and-piano works by Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich.
Melnikov has performed recitals at such prestigious venues as Wigmore Hall in London, Tokyo's Suntory Hall, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. As a concerto soloist, he has performed with the NDR Sinfonieorchester, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, among many other top ensembles. Melnikov has been particularly noted as a chamber music player, appearing in this capacity on both modern and historical instruments. He has regularly performed with violinist Isabelle Faust, and the pair's recording of Beethoven's violin sonatas earned the ECHO Klassik prize and a Gramophone Award. He has also appeared with cellist Alexander Rudin and Jean-Guihen Queyras, baritone Georg Nigl, and larger groups. He often performs with major historical-instrument ensembles such as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Köln, and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
Melnikov has recorded mostly for the Harmonia Mundi label, with a 2012 disc featuring the two Shostakovich piano concertos, under conductor Teodor Currentzis, recognized as a standout. In 2020, he and Faust released the second volume in a new cycle devoted to Mozart's violin sonatas. That series continued to appear through the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Melnikov remained active; he released seven albums in 2021 and 2022 alone. In 2023, he released the album Fantasie: 7 Composers, 7 Keyboards, which featured instruments from his own collection. By that time, his recording catalog comprised some 40 albums.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Ludwig van Beethoven : Complete Works for Violoncello and Piano
Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov
Dúos - Editado por harmonia mundi el 22-09-2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 / Schumann: 3 Romances / F-A-E Sonata
Alexander Melnikov, Isabelle Faust
Dúos - Editado por harmonia mundi el 17-09-2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer"
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
Clásica - Editado por harmonia mundi el 26-06-2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Horn and Piano: A Cor Basse Recital
Teunis van der Zwart, Alexander Melnikov
Música de cámara - Editado por harmonia mundi el 07-01-2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Tragic Overture - Cherubini: Éliza (Overture)
Alexander Melnikov, Ivor Bolton, Sinfonieorchester Basel
Música concertante - Editado por harmonia mundi el 27-08-2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2, 3, 9 & Other Piano Works
Clásica - Editado por harmonia mundi el 31-07-2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven : Sonates pour violon & piano (Intégrale) (Isabelle Faust - Alexander Melnikov)
Música de cámara - Editado por harmonia mundi el 24-08-2009
Gramophone Award24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Sonatas Nos.1 & 2
Clásica - Editado por harmonia mundi el 15-02-2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Etudes-tableaux, Op.39, Poems, Op.38
Clásica - Editado por harmonia mundi el 14-04-2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabine: Œuvres pour piano
Clásica - Editado por harmonia mundi el 31-07-2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Études-Tableaux
Elena Brilova, Alexander Melnikov
Clásica - Editado por harmonia mundi el 14-04-2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, Schubert & Chopin: Three Sonatas
Música concertante - Editado por Pavane Records el 01-01-1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo