梅尼可夫被譽為 21 世紀最引人注目的優秀鋼琴家之一。他 1973 年出生於莫斯科，六歲起在莫斯科中央音樂學校學習鋼琴，七歲就與俄羅斯國家交響樂團合作舉行音樂會，之後在莫斯科的柴可夫斯基音樂學院繼續深造，老師為鼎鼎大名的瑙莫夫（Lev Naumov），直至 1997 年畢業於該學院為止。期間梅尼可夫曾經多次被李希特邀請，在他於莫斯科舉辦的「十二月之夜」音樂節，以及在法國 La Grange de Meslay 舉辦的室內樂音樂節上演出；此外，梅尼可夫也已經受邀在石勒蘇益格-荷爾斯泰因（Schleswig-Holstein）音樂節、費爾菲（Vervier）音樂節上演出。而當梅尼可夫還在學校的時候，就已經是好幾個國際鋼琴大賽的得主，包括在 Zwickau 的舒曼鋼琴大賽，以及 1991 年在布魯塞爾的伊莉莎白國際音樂大賽。完成學業之後，梅尼可夫前往慕尼黑，向鋼琴家薇莎拉茲（Elisso Virssaladze）繼續學習，也前往義大利向史戴爾（Andreas Staier）與許納貝爾（Karl-Ulrich Schnabel）等鋼琴家求教， 1999 年獲得蘇聯授予「青年音樂家」桂冠。2000 年至 2002 年間，梅尼可夫一直被英國BBC廣播公司選為新世代音樂家的代表人物。梅尼可夫音樂的感悟相當獨到，在琴鍵間別具感染力的靈氣演繹，曾經得到李希特極力讚揚，甚至有媒體為他冠上「未來李希特」的稱號。

梅尼可夫一直是 Harmonia mundi 的專屬藝人，一開始的拉赫曼尼諾夫與史克里亞賓鋼琴作品集相當受到好評，而之後與佛斯特合作的舒伯特與貝多芬小提琴奏鳴曲，也一直是歐洲唱片雜誌的當月推薦盤。而蕭士塔高維契的 24 首前奏曲與賦格，這套錄音被譽為繼妮可萊耶娃之後最值得推薦的重要版本之一。

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.

Since 2002 Melnikov has taught piano at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, United Kingdom. Being an artist of "Harmonia mundi" he registered many CD's as soloist and chamber musician. In addition, Melnikov’s second love is aviation, and he is a qualified private pilot.