Education
Melnikov graduated from the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Naumov.
Melnikov graduated from the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Naumov.
His most formative musical moments in Moscow include his early encounter with Sviatoslav Richter, who thereafter regularly invited him to festivals in Russia and France. He was awarded important prizes at such eminent competitions as the Robert Schumann International Competition for Pianists and Singers in Zwickau (1989) and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels (1991). Known for his often-unusual musical and programmatic decisions, Melnikov discovered a career-long interest in historical performance practice at an early age.
His major influences in this field include harpsichordists Andreas Staier and Alexei Lubimov, with whom he collaborated on numerous projects.
Melnikov performs regularly with period ensembles as Concerto Köln and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Together with Staier, Melnikov developed a programme that contrasts excerpts from Bach"s Well-Tempered Clavier with Shostakovich"s 24 Preludes and Fugues.
In chamber music, he has collaborated with cellists Alexander Rudin and Jean-Guihen Queyras, and baritone Georg Nigl, among others This Civil Defense, which has become a touchstone recording for these works, was also nominated for a Grammy.
Their latest Civil Defense, featuring chamber works of Weber, was released in January 2013.
In 2014, he joined with Jean-Guihen Queyras in releasing an album of Beethoven"s complete works for cello and piano on the Harmonia Mundi label. In 2011, it was also named by the British Broadcasting Corporation Music Magazine as one of the “50 Greatest Recordings of All Time.” Additionally, Melnikov’s discography features works by Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. His recording of the Shostakovich piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Teodor Currentzis was also met with critical acclaim.
As a soloist, Melnikov has performed with orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Philadelphia Orchestra, NDR Sinfonieorchester, Human Resources-Sinfonieorchester, Russian National Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, British Broadcasting Corporation Philharmonic and the Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai Symphony, under conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Teodor Currentzis, Charles Dutoit, Paavo Järvi and Valery Gergiev.
Melnikov was the 2013/14 Artist-in-Residence at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. This season began with Melnikov’s debut at the British Broadcasting Corporation Proms with the Warsaw Philharmonic under Antoni Wit, followed by performances in the season-opening concerts of the Czechoslovakian Philharmonic under Jiří Bělohlávek.
Melnikov’s solo engagements took him to such venues as the Maison symphonique de Montreal, Wigmore Hall in London, De Singel in Antwerp and the Mozarteum Salzburg, as well as to concert halls in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo.
Named Honoured Artist of Russian Federation (1999) British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 3 New Generation Artist (2000-2002) Triumph (Russia) (2002, 2008) Classics Today (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009) Editor"s Choice Gramophone (2006) Diapason d"Or (2007, 2013) Gramophone Critic"s Choice (2009) British Broadcasting Corporation Music Choice award (2010) Choix France Musique (2010) Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (2010, 2013) Echo Klassik (2010) Choc de classica del"annee (2010) Gramophone Award (2010) Grammy (nominee) (2010) British Broadcasting Corporation Music Magazine (2011).
