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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Schumann: Piano Quartet - Piano Quintet
Isabelle Faust, Anne-Katharina Schreiber, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov
Chamber Music - Released by harmonia mundi on 24 Nov 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Violin Concerto, Chamber Works
Isabelle Faust, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Jakub Hrůša, Alexander Melnikov, Boris Faust
Symphonies - Released by harmonia mundi on 12 Apr 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Sonatas for Fortepiano & Violin, Vol. 3
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 21 May 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart : Sonatas for Fortepiano & Violin, Vol. 2
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 7 Feb 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven : Complete Sonatas for Piano & Violin
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 24 Aug 2009
Gramophone Award24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dimitri Chostakovitch : Concertos pour piano - Sonate pour violon (Alexander Melnikov - Mahler Chamber Orchestra & Teodor Currentzis - Isabelle Faust)
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Feb 2012
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart : Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin
Alexander Melnikov, Isabelle Faust
Duets - Released by harmonia mundi on 9 Nov 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven : Piano Trios, Op.70 No.2, Op.97 "Archduke"
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Jean-Guihen Queyras
Trios - Released by harmonia mundi on 24 Feb 2014
Qobuzissime24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin, Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonatas
Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov
Chamber Music - Released by harmonia mundi on 10 Jun 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Fantasie: Seven Composers, Seven Keyboards
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 28 Apr 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franck : Piano & Violin Sonata - Chausson : Concert
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Salagon Quartet
Chamber Music - Released by harmonia mundi on 26 May 2017
Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 3 & 5, Visions fugitives
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 6 May 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Op. 56 & Trio, Op. 36
Freiburger Barockorchester, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Alexander Melnikov, Pablo Heras-Casado, Isabelle Faust
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 19 Feb 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann : Cello Concerto - Piano Trio No 1
Jean-Guihen Queyras, Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 1 Apr 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Préludes du 2e Livre, La Mer (transc. Debussy)
Alexander Melnikov, Olga Pashchenko
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 29 Jun 2018
5 de DiapasonGramophone Editor's ChoicePreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 16 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev : Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2 (Nos 4, 7, 9)
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 18 Oct 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Four pianos, Four Pieces
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 9 Feb 2018
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2, 6, 8
Solo Piano - Released by harmonia mundi on 18 Nov 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hindemith: Sonatas for…
Alexander Melnikov, Isabelle Faust, Alexander Rudin, Jeroen Berwaerts, Gérard Costes, Teunis van der Zwart
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 13 Jan 2015
4F de Télérama4 étoiles ClassicaDiapason d'or / ArteGramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann : Piano Concerto, Piano Trio Op. 80
Alexander Melnikov, Freiburger Barockorchester, Pablo Heras-Casado
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 19 Aug 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo