Alexander Melnikov

Piano, Fortepiano

Artist in Residence at the Beethovenfest Bonn 2022
"Having come from the Soviet Union, if you knew the number of pianos I had to try – nothing scares me if something goes wrong […] Most of the venues I’m playing at I know the pianos. Some are nice, others I must struggle with. But if there’s a problem, I can fix it myself."
Alexander Melnikov, The Daily Gazette, January 2017
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Biography

Alexander Melnikov completed his studies at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Naumov. His most formative musical moments in Moscow include an early encounter with Svjatoslav Richter, who thereafter regularly invited him to festivals in Russia and France. He was awarded important prizes at eminent competitions such as the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau (1989) and the Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth in Brussels (1991).

Known for his often unusual musical and programmatic decisions, Alexander Melnikov developed his career-long interest in historically informed performance practice early on. His major influences in this field include Andreas Staier and Alexei Lubimov. Melnikov performs regularly with distinguished period ensembles including the Freiburger Barockorchester, Musica Aeterna and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

As a soloist, Alexander Melnikov has performed with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Philadelphia Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, HR-Sinfonieorchester, Munich Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic, under conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Teodor Currentzis, Charles Dutoit, Paavo Järvi and Vladimir Jurowski.
„Melnikov's fine, highly musical phrasing, his brilliant touch and his desire to interact with the musicians as closely as possible made the concert an unforgettable experience.”Hamburger Abendblatt, January 2023
Together with Andreas Staier, Alexander Melnikov recorded a unique all-Schubert programme of four-hand pieces, which they have also performed in concert. An essential part of Melnikov’s work is intensive chamber music collaboration with partners including cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Alexander Melnikov’s association with the label harmonia mundi arose through his regular recital partner, violinist Isabelle Faust, and in 2010 their complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano won a Gramophone Award. This album, which has become a landmark recording for these works, was also nominated for a Grammy. Their most recent releases feature Brahms and Mozart sonatas for violin and piano.

Melnikov’s recording of the Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich was awarded the BBC Music Magazine Award, Choc de classica and the Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In 2011, it was also named by the BBC Music Magazine as one of the “50 Greatest Recordings of All Time.” Additionally, his discography features works by Brahms, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich and Scriabin. Along with Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburger Barockorchester, Melnikov recorded a trilogy of albums featuring the Schumann Concertos and Trios (published in 2015-16) and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto (2021). Other releases include a complete recording of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas and “Four Pieces, Four Pianos”, released in 2018 and highly acclaimed by critics.

Highlights of the 2022/23 season will include Melnikov's debut with the Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam with conductor Teodor Currentzis, his first appearances with François-Xavier Roth's orchestra "Les Siècles" with concerts in Montpellier (Festival Radio France) and the Salzburger Festspiele, and his debut with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev. Among others Alexander Melnikov follows re-invitations to orchestras such as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresdner Philharmonie, the Sinfonieorchester Basel or the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. He attaches great importance to collaborations with leading chamber orchestras and will work with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Kammerakademie Potsdam and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century in the 2022/23 season.

Alexander Melnikov continues his chamber music work in various formations with partners such as Teunis van der Zwart, Sol Gabetta, Isabelle Faust and Jean-Guihen Queyras and performs with at the Vienna Musikverein, the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Prinzregententheater in Munich and the Wigmore Hall in London.

Solo concerts at the Elbphilharmonie, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, the Toppan Hall in Tokyo, the Kölner Philarmonie or the Brucknerhaus Linz will complete Alexander Melnikov's season this year.

2022 / 2023
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.
Contacts: Carolin Traute-Breidenbach, Juliane Doiwa

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Programme

2022 / 2023
Solo I

Schnittke: Improvisation and Fugue
Schnittke: Sonata No. 3 for Piano
Schnittke: Five Aphorisms for Piano
Schnittke: Three Fragments for Cembalo
Gubaidulina: Chaconne
Denisov: Variations for Piano
Tchemberdji: Kamni 1-7

Solo II
A concert evening with two intermissions

Shostakovich: Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

Solo III
Schubert: Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 D760 „Wanderer”
Brahms: Seven Fantasies, Op. 116
***
Debussy: 12 Préludes (Livre II)
On Tour
with Heinz Holliger & Kammerorchester Basel
10 - 16 November, 2022

Schumann: Ouverture to “Genoveva”
Schumann: Introduction and Allegro appassionato for Piano and Orchestra in G major, Op. 92
Schumann: Concerto-allegro with Introduction for Piano and Orchestra in D minor, Op. 134
***
Schumann: Three Romances, Op. 94
Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in B major, Op. 38 “Spring Symphony”

2023 / 2024
Rachmaninov 150

Rachmaninov: Variations on a theme by Corelli, Op. 42

Rachmaninov: Variations on a theme by Chopin, Op. 22

***

Rachmaninov: Nine Études-Tableaus, Op. 39

Listening Academy
with B'Rock Orchestra
Play-Conduct Concert moderated by Alexander Melnikov
2–13 April 2024

Beethoven: Concert for Piano and Orchestra, No. 1 in C major, Op. 15

Fortepiano

Clementi: Sonata for Piano in G minor, Op. 34

Clementi: from “Charakteristische Musik”, Op. 19: I. Preludio alla Haydn

Haydn: Sonata in C-sharp minor, Hob. XVI: 36

***

Clementi: Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 5

Clementi: from “Charakteristische Musik”, Op. 19: III. Preludio alla Mozart

Mozart: Sonata in F major, K 332

Piano Trio
with Isabelle Faust (Violin) & Jean-Guihen Queyras (Cello)

Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36 arr. for Piano Trio

Carter: Epigrams for Piano Trio (2012)

***

Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90 “Dumky”

or Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 (Version 1889)

On Tour
with Isabelle Faust (Violin), Les Siècles & François-Xavier Roth
12–27 September 2023

Ligeti: Concert Românesc

Ligeti: Concert for Violin and Orchestra

***

Mozart: Concert for Piano and Orchestra No. 23 in A major, K 488

Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D major, K 504 “Prager Sinfonie”

 

Ligeti: Chamber Concert for 13 Instrumentalists

Ligeti: Concert for Piano and Orchestra

***

Mozart: Concert for Violin and Orchestra No. 3 in G major, K 216

Mozart: Symphony No. 34 in C major, K 338

2021 / 2022

Schedule

02.04.2023
15:00 Uhr
HK / Hong Kong - Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre Grand Hall
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
06.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
FR / Clermont-Ferrand - Opéra-Théâtre
Alexander Melnikov, Orchestre National d'Auvergne, Thomas Zehetmair
18.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
DE / Hagen - Stadthalle Hagen
Alexander Melnikov, Philharmonisches Orchester Hagen, Gottfried von der Goltz
22.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
DE / Dresden - Kulturpalast am Altmarkt Konzertsaal
Alexander Melnikov, Ariane Matiakh, Dresdner Philharmonie
23.04.2023
11:00 Uhr
DE / Dresden - Kulturpalast am Altmarkt Konzertsaal
Alexander Melnikov, Ariane Matiakh, Dresdner Philharmonie
28.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
GB / London - Wigmore Hall
Alexander Melnikov, Claron McFadden
30.04.2023
16:00 Uhr
DE / Frankfurt am Main - Alte Oper Frankfurt Mozartsaal
Alexander Melnikov
03.05.2023
20:15 Uhr
BE / Maasmechelen - St Pieterskerk Leut
Alexander Melnikov, Claron McFadden
07.05.2023
17:00 Uhr
CH / Riehen - Hotel Landgasthof Großer Festsaal
Alexander Melnikov
10.05.2023
19:30 Uhr
SI / Maribor - Union Hall Maribor
Alexander Melnikov, Kammerorchester Basel, Heinz Holliger
11.05.2023
20:00 Uhr
DE / Burghausen - Stadtsaal Burghausen
Alexander Melnikov, Kammerorchester Basel, Heinz Holliger
12.05.2023
20:00 Uhr
DE / Weiden - Max-Reger-Halle
Alexander Melnikov, Kammerorchester Basel, Heinz Holliger
13.05.2023
19:00 Uhr
DE / Wiesloch - Hotel- und Kongresszentrum Palatin Staufersaal
Alexander Melnikov, Kammerorchester Basel, Heinz Holliger
17.05.2023
19:30 Uhr
DE / Hamburg - Elbphilharmonie Kleiner Saal
Alexander Melnikov
24.05.2023
20:15 Uhr
NL / Amsterdam - Concertgebouw Grote Zaal
Alexander Melnikov, Jonathan Darlington, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
26.05.2023
20:30 Uhr
FR / Paris - Salle Gaveau
Alexander Melnikov, Jonathan Darlington, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
29.05.2023
11:30 Uhr
BE / Braibant Ciney - Château de Halloy SA
Alexander Melnikov, Aleksandar Madzar
29.05.2023
14:00 Uhr
BE / Braibant Ciney - Château de Halloy SA
Alexander Melnikov, Sini Simonen, Lilli Maijala, Amy Norrington
08.06.2023
20:30 Uhr
BE / Schilde - Werf 44
Alexander Melnikov
16.06.2023
19:00 Uhr
/ -
Alexander Melnikov, Hugo Ticciati, István Várdai, Yuvak Gotlibovich
17.06.2023
19:00 Uhr
/ -
Alexander Melnikov, Christoffer Sundqvist
21.06.2023
20:00 Uhr
FR / Anglet - Théâtre Quintaou
Alexander Melnikov
24.06.2023
FR / Reims -
Alexander Melnikov, B'Rock
28.06.2023
19:30 Uhr
CH / Basel - Stadtcasino Hans-Huber-Saal
Alexander Melnikov, Ivor Bolton, Sinfonieorchester Basel
29.06.2023
19:30 Uhr
CH / Basel - Stadtcasino Hans-Huber-Saal
Alexander Melnikov, Ivor Bolton, Sinfonieorchester Basel
08.07.2023
17:00 Uhr
DE / Heideblick - Drauschemühle Bornsdorf
Alexander Melnikov, Harriet Krijgh, Pirmin Grehl, Tobias Feldmann, Antje Weithaas, Pauline Sachse
09.07.2023
17:00 Uhr
DE / Lübbenau/Spreewald - Schloss Lübbenau
Alexander Melnikov, Martin Helmchen
11.07.2023
19:30 Uhr
DE / Baruth/Mark - Glashütte
Alexander Melnikov, Stephen Waarts, Tobias Feldmann, Timothy Ridout, Juliane Steckel
14.07.2023
21:00 Uhr
CZ / Cesky Krumlov - Castle Summer Riding School Garden
Alexander Melnikov, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Robert Jindra
15.07.2023
17:00 Uhr
DE / Elmau/Klais - Schloss Elmau
Alexander Melnikov
18.07.2023
DK / Hindsgavl - Hindsgavl Slot
Alexander Melnikov
22.07.2023
20:00 Uhr
FR / Honfleur - Greniers à sel
Alexander Melnikov
24.07.2023
20:00 Uhr
FR / Montpellier - Opéra Comédie
Isabelle Faust, Francois-Xavier Roth, Les Siècles, Alexander Melnikov
30.07.2023
11:11 Uhr
DE / Hitzacker - VERDO Kultur- und Tagungszentrum
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Johannes Hinterholzer
31.07.2023
14:02 Uhr
DE / Hitzacker - VERDO Kultur- und Tagungszentrum
Alexander Melnikov

Discography

Chopin, Rachmaninov: Cello Sonatas
Frédéric Chopin
Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65

Sergei Rachmaninov
Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19

Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello

Prokofiev: Sonatas III
Sergei Prokofiev
Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 1

Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28 "From the Old Notebooks"

Sonata No. 5 in C major, Op.135 (1953 version)

Visions fugitives, Op. 22

Horn and Piano: A Cor Basse Recital
Ludwig van Beethoven
Horn Sonata in F major, Op. 17

Ferdinand Ries
Horn Sonata in F major, Op. 34

Giovanni Punto
Horn Concerto No. 1 in E major

Franz Danzi
Horn Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 28

Teunis van der Zwart - Horn

Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Tragic Ouverture, Op. 81
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15

Luigi Cherubini
Éliza, ou Le Voyage aux Glaciers du Mont Saint-Bernard

Sinfonieorchester Basel
Ivor Bolton - Conductor

Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale
Igor Stravinsky
Élégie for Violin Solo
Duo Concertant for Violin and Piano
The Soldier's Tale

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Lorenzo Coppola - Clarinet
Javier Zafra - Bassoon
Reinhold Friedrich - Cornet
Jörgen van Rijen - Trombone
Wies de Boevé - Double Bass
Raymond Curfs - Percussion
Dominique Horwitz - Speaker

Mozart: Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin III
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Sonata in G major, K. 379
Violin Sonata in F major, K. 377
Violin Sonata in E-flat major, K. 302
Violin Sonata in B-flat major, K. 454

Isabelle Faust - Violin

Beethoven: Triple Concerto
Ludwig van Beethoven
Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56
Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello after Symphony No. 2, Op. 36

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello
Freiburger Barockorchester
Pablo Heras-Casado - Conductor

Prokofiev: Sonatas II
Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83
Piano Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29
Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major, Op. 103

Mozart: Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin II
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Sonata in F major, K. 376
Violin Sonata in A major, K. 305
Violin Sonata in G major, K. 301
Violin Sonata in B-flat major, K. 378

Isabelle Faust - Violin

Debussy: Les Trois Sonates, The Late Works
Claude Debussy
[Troisième] Sonate pour violon et piano
Berceuse héroïque
Page d'album
[Deuxième] Sonate pour flûte, alto et harpe
Élégie
[Première] Sonate pour violoncelle et piano
Les Soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Tanguy de Williencourt - Piano
Javier Perianes - Piano
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello
Magali Mosnier - Flute
Antoine Tamestit - Viola
Xavier de Maistre - Harp

Mozart: Sonatas for Fortepiano and Violin I
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Sonata in D major, K. 306
Violin Sonata in E minor, K. 304
Violin Sonata in A major, K. 526

Isabelle Faust - Violin

Debussy: Préludes du 2e Livre
Claude Debussy
Préludes, Livre II
La Mer, trois esquisses symphoniques

Olga Pashchenko - Piano

Four Pianos, Four Pieces
Franz Schubert
Wanderer-Fantasie, Op. 15 D 760

Frederic Chopin
Douze Études, Op. 10

Franz Liszt
Réminiscences de Don Juan

Igor Stravinsky
Trois Mouvements de Pétrouchka

Chausson - Franck
Ernest Chausson
Concerto for Piano, Violin and String Quartet, Op. 21

César Franck
Sonata for Piano and Violin in A major, FW8

Alexander Melnikov - Piano
Isabelle Faust - Violin
Salagon Quartet - String Quartet

Schubert: Fantasie in F minor
Franz Schubert
Fantasie, Op. 103 D 940
4 Ländler, D 814
Marche Caractéristique, D 886 No. 1
Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 35 D 813
Grande Marche, Op. 40 No. 3 D 819
Polonaise, Op. 61 No. 1 D 824
Rondo, Op. 107 D 951

Andreas Staier - Fortepiano

Prokofiev: Sonatas I
Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 14
Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82
Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84

Schumann: Piano Concerto and Piano Trio No. 2
Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto, Op. 54
Piano Trio No. 2 in F major, Op. 80

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello
Freiburger Barockorchester
Pablo Heras-Casado - Conductor

Brahms: Violin Sonatas, Op. 100 & 108
Johannes Brahms
Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100

Robert Schumann
Three Romances, Op. 94

Albert Dietrich / Robert Schumann / Johannes Brahms
F.A.E. Sonata

Isabelle Faust - Violin

harmonia mundi, 2015

Hindemith: Sonatas for...
Paul Hindemith
Sonata for Althorn and Piano
Sonata for Cello and Piano
Sonata for Trombone and Piano
Sonata for Violin and Piano
Sonata for Trumpet and Piano

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Teunis van der Zwart - Horn
Jeroen Berwaerts - Trumpet
Alexander Rudin - Cello
Gérard Costes - Trombone

Beethoven: Complete Works for Violoncello & Piano
Ludwig van Beethoven
Variations on Mozart's "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" (Die Zauberflöte), Op. 66
Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 5 No. 1
Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5 No. 2
Variations on Handel's "See, the Conqu'ring Hero comes" (Judas Maccabeus), WoO 45
Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69
Variations on Mozart's "Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen" (Die Zauberflöte), WoO 46
Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 No. 1
Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102 No. 2

Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello

Beethoven: Piano Trios, Op. 70 No. 2, Op. 97 "Archduke"
Ludwig van Beethoven
Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano in E-flat major, Op. 70 No. 2
Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano in B-flat major "Archduke", Op. 97

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello

Weber: Sonatas & Piano Quartet
Carl Maria von Weber
Sonata in C major, Op. 10 No. 6
Sonata in G major, Op. 10 No. 3
Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 10 No. 4
Quartet for Violin, Viola, Violoncello and Fortepiano in B-flat major, Op. 8

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Boris Faust - Viola
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt - Cello

Shostakovich: Piano Concerts
Dmitri Shostakovich
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F major, Op. 102
Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 134
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Jeroen Berwaerts - Trumpet
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Teodor Currentzis - Conductor

Shostakovich: The Preludes & Fugues
Dmitri Shostakovich
Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

Brahms: Sonatas
Johannes Brahms
French Horn Trio E-flat major, Op. 40
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
Fantasies, Op. 116 Nos. 1-7

Teunis van der Zwart - French Horn
Isabelle Faust - Violin

Rachmaninov: Études-Tableux
Sergei Rachmaninov
Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 39 Nos. 1-9
Songs, Op. 38 Nos. 1-6
Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Op. 42

Elena Brilova - Soprano

Beethoven: Kreutzer Sonata
Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 "The Kreutzer Sonata"

Isabelle Faust - Violin

Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Préludes, Op. 11 Nos. 1-24
Sonata for Piano No. 3 in G-sharp minor, Op. 19 "Sonata fantasy"
Poèmes, Op. 32 Nos. 1-2
Pieces for Piano, Op. 45 Nos. 1-3
Pieces for Piano, Op. 57 Nos. 1-2
Sonata for Piano No. 3 in F-sharp minor, Op. 23
Preludes, Op. 74 Nos. 1-5
Pieces for Piano, Op. 56 Nos. 1-4
Sonata for Piano, Op. 68 No. 9 "Black Mass"
Mazurkas, Op. 25 Nos. 1-9

Schubert
Franz Schubert
Fantasy in C major, Op. posth. 159 D 934
Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, D 574
Rondo Brilliant in B minor, Op. 70 D 895

Isabelle Faust - Violin

Dvořák
Antonín Dvořák
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 53
Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor, Op. 65

Isabelle Faust - Violin
Jean-Guihen Queyras - Cello
Prag Philharmonic Orchestra
Jiri Belohlavek - Conductor

Videos

Many Pianos - Alexander Melnikov
"Schumann: Piano Concerto" (Album Presentation)

Contact

Carolin Traute-Breidenbach
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 745
t: +33 (0)7 73 89 03 47
f: +49 (0)30 414 781 713
Juliane Doiwa
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 720
f: +49 (0)30 414 781 713