俄罗斯著名钢琴家 　　Alexander Markovich Melnikov (born 1973) is a Russian pianist. 　　Born in Moscow, Melnikov began studying music at age six at Moscow’s Central Music School. He continued at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Lev Naumov, graduating in 1997. Later he completed his post-graduate studies in Munich with Eliso Virsaladze. He also studied with Andreas Staier and Karl-Ulrich Schnabel at the Fondazione per il Pianoforte (Lago di Como, Italy). While still at school he became a prize-winner of several major international piano competitions, including the Schumann Piano Competition in Zwickau in 1989 and the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels in 1991. He also began his international career shortly afterwards. Since the age of 15 he has participated in numerous International Music Festivals all over the world (Scleswig Hollstein, Vervier among many others).As a recitalist he appears in halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt and Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet etc. He has made concerto appearances with orchestras such as the Russian National, Tokyo Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Philadelphia (under Charles Dutoit), Rotterdam Philharmonic (under Valery Gergiev), Royal Concertgebouw, NHK Symphony and BBC Philharmonic. 　　Along with solo and orchestral appearances, chamber music plays an important part in Melnikov's activities. Between 1993 and 2003 he performed with violinist Vadim Repin, and he presently appears with violinist Isabelle Faust, cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras. He appears regularly in piano duo appearances with Andreas Staier, Boris Berezovsky, and Alexei Lubimov. Melnikov also maintained close artistic ties with Sviatoslav Richter, who regularly invited him to participate in his festivals in Moscow (December Nights), and his chamber music festival in Grange du Meslay (Tours, France).[1] Since 2002 Melnikov has taught piano at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, United Kingdom. Being an artist of