Nikita Lukinov on the importance of smaller venues

The performing arts industry often perpetuates the idea that the artist’s worth is defined only by their most recent performance— ‘you’re only as good as your last show’. In my experience, regular performance at venues of all sizes, particularly smaller venues, can help to maintain that crucial high level of quality and helps performers avoid falling below a certain standard. This is even more important for artists looking to establish an international reputation as it is important to avoid being seen as unreliable to work with.

Being open to opportunities at smaller venues means I receive much-needed regular performing experience which is a desired aspect for a majority of artists, especially those who are in the process of developing their artistry. During these concerts I feel less pressured and can therefore embrace artistic freedom, allowing myself to test my newest pieces in public. It is also important to get yourself used to the discomfort of performing, so you can start to feel relaxed in it.

If one has stage anxiety to some degree (and the majority of artists do) it can affect the overall quality of performance, especially in the early stages of one’s career or after a long break from performing. Regular exposure through these more relaxed performances helps me avoid the stage anxiety that almost inevitably occurs to some degree during performances at bigger venues.

When I perform, I feel myself enter a different state, which I call my ‘performing being’. At times when I haven’t been able to perform as regularly and have perhaps been away from the concert platform for more than a month I could feel, from the moment I stepped onto the stage, that my ‘performing being’ was far from comfortable. Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter himself said that he lost ‘some kind of stage momentum’ if he left more than a three-day gap between performances.

Performing in smaller venues such as music clubs also helps one build an audience on a local level. Moreover, you have a much better chance of securing a performance in a smaller venue, as opposed to a city’s Town Hall or major London venues where it is impossible to get an evening solo recital unless you are a winner of a big international competition.

At this stage of my career, Live Music Now Scotland (LMNS) provides me with regular performing opportunities at smaller venues. More importantly, I feel that I have a mission when undertaking performances for LMNS — the main purpose of this organisation is to provide live music to those who wouldn’t have access to it otherwise. LMNS concerts are organised in care homes and hospitals as well as at homes and schools for those with special needs and disabilities. The most beautiful thing about these concerts is that, although these audiences might not have the same level of music awareness, they never fail to feel and understand when the performance was truly special.

My first performance with LMNS took place in a care home in Edinburgh and was a truly memorable experience. It was the first time in a really long time I had entered that world and, despite the whole event lasting for only one hour, it was a refreshing experience that helped me to reconsider the things I took for granted: my youth, health and energy. When I saw genuinely sparkling eyes after the concert, and heard that for many of the care home residents this concert made a real difference, I felt that I had done the right thing.

These more relaxed smaller performances have helped me prepare for the opportunities LMNS offered at bigger venues. Thanks to the organisation’s Emerging Artists concert series, I had my debut solo recital at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh in January, the biggest event LMNS has organised. Alongside this opportunity, I was also able to perform at Paxton House in April. That same month, as part of an exciting piano festival headlined by Angela Hewitt, my live performance and interview were later broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland.

From January to May, I have 30 performances, and at this stage I feel quantity is turning into quality. This fast-paced professional life and constant deadlines have led by me to develop practice and memorisation techniques that doubled or even tripled my pianistic efficiency. Throughout the first five months of 2023 I have performed a wide range of and, as an outcome of my intense performance and teaching schedule, I have learnt the entire Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures from an Exhibition’ in just two weeks. As a child I dreamt of playing this work, and so being able to play this monumental work by heart so soon after opening the score made me feel as if my horizons are nearly limitless!

I share these with first-study pianists at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where I am the youngest member of senior staff (in fact, I am the youngest member of senior staff in the UK Royal Schools of Music). My class is designed to supplement first study lessons and help students to overcome pianistic difficulties faster by solving technical imperfections, finding the most efficient finger choices, sharing memorisation techniques and getting to the essence of the idea behind notes among many other elements.

All art - and music in particular - should be made out of love and I think that having a successful career doesn’t mean only performing at the top venues. One needs to strive to leave one’s own distinct footprint and legacy. Ultimately, I agree with Vladimir Ashkenazy’s saying: ‘If you are doing music and you go for fame, you have a problem.’

Nikita Lukinov’s debut album, Kaleidoscope is released on all streaming platforms from 1 June 2023 and on the KNS Classical website here. You can find out more about Nikita Lukinov here.