THE last word of the columnar year in this space is devoted to a pianist whose name will probably be familiar to aficionados, might be unfamiliar to more general music lovers, but should be more widely known than I suspect it is. I’ve tested that out by dropping the name into myriad conversations, often en passant, with members of the musical commuter belt, many of whom seem to get to more concerts than I do, believe it or not. So who is this pianist – the latest young wunderkind, in need of championship?

Not at all. He was born in 1973, he’s Russian and his name is Alexander Melnikov. If that name does ring a bell with some, then ask yourself why: what do you associate him with? Has the name ever appeared in this space? Yes, on many occasions, but never in the spotlight, never in concert reviews and always in relation to recordings or a project. Superficially, the trajectory of Melnikov’s career might seem to resemble the classic development of a Russian virtuoso. He was a music graduate from the Moscow Conservatory. He had an early encounter with the legendary Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter who clearly spotted something special in the young Melnikov and invited him to attend festivals in Russia and France. Melnikov touched on the competition circuit, winning prizes in Zwickau and Brussels. Who knows how that might have evolved? But clearly Melnikov was fast developing broader interests.

Early in his career he had demonstrated an interest in historically-informed performance practice, and a major influence in that sphere was the harpsichordist Andreas Staier. Melnikov’s performance experience in that line includes appearances with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, with whom he plays regularly, as well as with the great Berlin ensemble, Die Die Akademie fur Alte Musik, Berlin, the Concerto Koln and Philippe Herreweghe’s crack band, the Orchestre des Champs-Elysees. But it was almost as though Melnikov’s versatility wouldn’t be contained by period bands – he also clocked up appearances with regular mainstream orchestras, including the Russian National Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic, while working with conductors across the stylistic range from Mikhail Pletnev to Charles Dutoit and Valery Gergiev.

Nor, as a recitalist and keyboard player, has Melnikov compartmentalised himself into any one area of specialism. He never seems to have permitted himself to become bracketed with any single, specialist association, as might arguably have happened with, say, Kristian Bezuidenhout, the brilliant fortepianist who appeared a few weeks back with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, or even with Robert Levin, who has also appeared with the SCO, but who, back in August, in stunning recitals with Steven Isserlis of Beethoven’s cello music in the Queen’s Hall, demonstrated that soulful playing and the perhaps more rarefied sonorities of the fortepiano are not necessarily an oil and water mix.

Melnikov’s musical interests, I suspect, are simply too broad and diverse to allow the spectre of pigeonholing to be a consideration. He has never lost his interest in Shostakovich, for example; indeed, Melnikov’s 2011 recording of Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues was named by BBC Music Magazine as “one of the greatest recordings of all time”. And interestingly, Melnikov’s work with harpsichordist Andreas Staier continues in a project that sets excerpts from Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier into a kind of dialogue with Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues.

In his latest recording, Volume One in a series devoted to the Piano Sonatas of Prokofiev, it’s tempting to suggest that Melnikov might be said to be returning to his roots and the heartland of his native repertoire, but that would ignore the fact that the man has become a renowned chamber musician, with many of his interests coming together. He established a partnership with violinist Isabelle Faust and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras that has resulted in some astounding recordings, including Beethoven Piano Trios, on which Melnikov plays a fortepiano. That led to an agreement between the three musicians to team up for a large-scale Schumann project over three CDs with Faust playing the Violin Concerto on one, Melnikov playing the Piano Concerto and Queyras the Cello Concerto on the others, while all three musicians appeared together on each CD, coupling each concerto with one of Schumann’s three Piano Trios. Instrumentation was critical: Faust, using gut strings, played her "Sleeping Beauty" Stradivarius, Queyras his Goffredo Cappa cello and Melnikov, who by now had assembled his own collection of pianos, played a Streicher 1847 piano on each of the Piano Trios and an Erard 1837 piano on his performance of the Piano Concerto. The sound worlds were enthralling and the whole concept, with Alexander Melnikov a pivotal figure, a landmark in joined-up musical thinking and performance.