Pianists in the Diamond: Alexander Melnikov (RU)
Hear the music in its original sound world as pianist Alexander Melnikov brings no fewer than five different keyboard instruments to the Queen’s Hall!
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788): Fantasy in F-sharp minor, Wq 67, H.300 (1787)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Fantasy in C minor, K.475 (1785)
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847): Fantasy in F-sharp minor, Op. 28, ‘Sonate écossaise’ (1833)
BREAK
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49 (1841)
Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915): Fantasy in B minor, Op. 28 (1901)
Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998): Improvisation and Fugue, Op. 38 (1965)
“Alexander Melnikov's knowledge of historical piano instruments and his ability to bring out their distinctive nuances is second to none.”
Such was the praise in the six-heart review published by Politiken when the Berlin-based Russian star pianist visited The Black Diamond in 2024 together with violinist Isabelle Faust.
Alexander Melnikov will generously share this exceptional expertise when he returns to the Queen’s Hall on 17 March, performing works by some of classical music’s greatest composers, including J.S. Bach, Mozart and Chopin, on five different keyboard instruments in the course of a single evening.
Melnikov’s fascination with historical instruments has led to the concert programme "Many Pianos", in which he performs classical works on the very instruments for which they were originally written.
His intention is not to create a performance that is 100% historically authentic; rather, the concept offers an impression of the works’ original sound, the composer’s point of departure and artistic intention, as well as insight into the rapid development of piano construction. Through his playing and interpretative emphasis, Melnikov also gives audiences a deeper understanding of the composers’ creative circumstances and of how the instruments themselves shaped the music.
This evening, Alexander Melnikov serves as guide on a musical excursion performed on the following keyboard instruments:
- Harpsichord
- Fortepiano newly built by Christoph Kern after Anton Walter, Vienna 1795
- Fortepiano newly built after Conrad Graf, Vienna 1826
- Fortepiano by Erard, Paris 1837
- The venue’s own modern Steinway & Sons Concert Grand D from 2015
“You can connect more closely with a composer’s musical language if you can see exactly how he is trying to exploit an instrument’s possibilities. I try to think about what these works were written for, and why they are all revolutionary in one way or another. I think that is slightly easier to demonstrate on historical instruments than if you play everything on a Steinway.” – Alexander Melnikov
The performer
Alexander Melnikov
Pianist Alexander Melnikov (RU) graduated from the Moscow Conservatory. He is renowned for his distinctive musical and programming choices, and early in his career developed a strong interest in the historical context of music, both technically and instrumentally. Melnikov frequently performs with distinguished ensembles including Freiburger Barockorchester, Musica Aeterna and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, among others.
Part of the series Pianists in the Diamond
Photo: Laura Stamer
A handful of times a year we let the best pianists of the time get their hands on The Black Diamond's grand concert piano for a solo concert.
The event is part of the series Pianists in the Diamond.
Pianists in the Diamond is supported by the Beckett Foundation.
