Composer and conductor
Ion Melnik began his artistic journey in the early 1940’s. He spent his childhood playing
the Dombra at one of the best ensembles of the USSR, the Moscow Ensemble of the Children of the Personnel of the
Ministry of Transportation. The Ensemble was lead by Simon Dunaevsky, the brother
of famous composer, Isaak Dunaevsky. In 1949, Ion Melnik was considered as one of the best Dombra
players in the USSR and was invited to teach at the Gnessin Institute in
Moscow. In his early years, he was influenced by Isaak Dunaevsky. Dunaevsky would often visit and work with the Ensemble led by his brother. This relationship with
Dunaevsky made a lasting impact on the young musician. Dunaevsky helped the young musician develop his composition
skills and at the age of twelve Ion Melnik was recommended by Isaac Dunaevsly to the School of composition for yong composers at the Composer Union (Soyuz Kompositorov of the USSR).
Later, Ion Melnik studied composition at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow and at the Leningrad State Conservatory. His teachers included Reingold Gliear, Mikhail Gnessin, Grigory Fried, Sergey Slonimsky and many other prominent musicians of that era. But the early influence of Dunaevsky played a very influential role in shaping Ion Melnik as a composer.
Throughout his career Ion Melnik composed numerous songs, many pieces of choral and instrumental music. He composed music to two films and a number of various television and radio programs. A lot can be said about his art, but music is a unique form of art and words may not be the best instrument to describe it. It simply needs to be listened to and judged for itself. On this site you can hear various samples of his compositions, or purchase one of his audio discs.