For the last 9 months, I have been on an eye-opening tour of the Scottish Isles, getting to know not only concert halls, but many out-of-the-way churches and arts centres across my adopted country. I have taken in part of the glorious West Coast, route NC500, dropping in on Cromarty, famous for the Shipping Broadcast, the Isle of Skye, as well as performing in the magnificent concert hall in Inverness and being recorded for Radio 3 in Perth at the end of the month. To complete this epic 40-concert odyssey, I am heading to Orkney Islands to open the St Magnus Festival on 20 and 23 June with the 4Bs – Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Babajanian – and a pictorial programme of Mussorgsky, Debussy, Liszt and Tchaikovsky.
Claude Debussy: Reflets Dans L’eau
I devised numerous programmes to offer promoters for the Scottish tour – one of the most popular included Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and another included Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in a quintet arrangement. This is where City Music Foundation helped to bring it to life – promoters with smaller venues, which are unable to host an orchestra, were thrilled with the idea of putting on a concerto, albeit with smaller forces. For many promoters, this was their first-ever performance of a concerto. But I was adamant about going out into the community – care homes, schools, centres for children with special needs – wherever anyone would open their doors to me.
Pianist Nikita Lukinov
Performing in non-conventional concert settings requires not only traveling know-how (there are only 3 buses a week to Gairloch, for example) but a high level of flexibility. In care homes, I often choose soothing repertoire including Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, along with jazz classics like Fly Me to the Moon and My Way and for my Scottish audience, some traditional songs like Loch Lomond.
However, not all performances go as expected. At one care home, which had assured me they had a good keyboard, I was met with a tiny 52-key instrument with no weighted keys and a broken pedal – more of a toy than a piano. Attempting a Beethoven programme would have been futile, so I was forced to adapt. I invited the residents to sing along, shifting the instrument’s role to accompaniment. Alongside my usual song rep, we explored Somewhere over the Rainbow, Hallelujah and more Scottish ditties. Residents loved the engagement, and Beethoven and Brahms could continue slumbering peacefully. In the middle of the session, I realised that this experience is a test of my own professionalism and ability to adapt to meet my listeners’ needs. I relaxed and enjoyed the moment instead of worrying that my original programme and whole plan was not fitting the setting.
On another occasion, a school on the Isle of Skye resulted in a completely different kind of interaction. Thanks to perfect pitch honed as a child from my Russian teachers, I devised a game that captivated the schoolchildren. I turned away from the keyboard and invited them to play up to 3 random notes which I would have to identify and repeat. The children were thrilled by the challenge, hell bent on trying to stump me. Naturally, I did have to concede and openly admit defeat at the last hurdle. The last boy’s victory was met with enthusiastic applause and whistles, and the entire room was buzzing with excitement. It was a beautiful moment of connection through music.
All these engagements have made me realise how important it is to communicate directly with anyone who makes the effort to come and hear me. It’s motivated me to introduce my programmes and, in the case of Pictures at an Exhibition, to shine a light on curious titles of the individual movements – some titles like the Tuileries, Children’s Quarrel after Games are easy to grasp, others are more ambiguous. Just like Mussorgsky’s own promenade through the exhibition of his friend Hartmann’s paintings (most lost to posterity), I like “walking through” the movements, each linked to a different painting, each of which presents a different vista and location.
The opening promenade is Mussorgsky in his prime, full of energy. As we come to the first painting of the Gnome, we are drawn into the world of a shady figure who hates being noticed, is suspicious and doubtful and just like a wild animal, darts away if seen. The 2nd promenade reminds me of a warming breakfast on a cold, bright winter’s morning, before we enter Il vecchio castello, The Old Castle, uninhabited except for the spirits of past dwellers, where time dissolves and we are lost in reverie. Bydlo in Polish has a double meaning of cattle, symbolising the beast of burden of the Polish soul laden down by war, but also in Russian it refers to a drunk who is impossible to be around.
© lukinoff.com
Each Promenade inhabits a different key and invokes a different sound world, from the central D minor to the final Superhero of Slav tales – Bogatyr. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle (Jew in a fur cap) depicts one rich man and one poor man. But in my mind, the poor man is the one without hesitation who has a determination to survive through his desperation, whereas the rich man is the one who is frightened and doesn’t know how to defend himself.
The Market of Limoges evokes the shouts of the conflicting vendors from the different stalls sending your head into a swirl. Whereas, with the Catacombs and the Dead in a Dead Language, we have descended into a Roman tomb, to a place of darkness, lighting a candle to see the cold stone and feel the eerie atmosphere of the spirit world.
Baba Yaga is the witch who lives in the forest, brewing potions. Her hut with chicken legs probably refers to forest huts on stilts in areas at risk of flooding. When we finally arrive at the Great Gates of Kiev after our superhero’s epic journey home, we are reminded that Bogatyr is filled with tears of relief and happiness. Despite his supernatural powers, he has a human soul, touched by the loss of his friends in battle. The bell-ringing at the end is otherworldly, and to this end, by not changing the pedal completely, I let the notes chime with their full reverberation.
Chatting to audiences to give them an insight into how I relate to the music is as important as communicating it through playing. Much of my early inspiration comes from jazz greats, whom my father invited to his Jazz Province festival between 2000-2020. Since my earliest years, we were always listening to Keith Jarrett, Lars Danielsson, Nils Landgren, Avishai Cohen and others. Their ability to evoke beauty and sincerity in the simplest of phrases resonates with me and inspires me to connect with audiences in a similar way. It is no coincidence that improvisation and storytelling inhabit the same part of the brain. Narrating is a vital skill whether performing classical music, improvising or otherwise.
Beyond the words and the music, what stays with us is emotion. When I perform, I strive to deliver its message straight to the hearts and souls of those listening. I believe that in art, there is a moment when comparisons become irrelevant —when the intellect fades, and we are left only with feeling. That, to me, is the ultimate goal: for someone to walk away thinking, “I felt it. I lived through those moments, and it moved me”. It is an unbelievable feeling to see people’s eyes sparkle so joyfully and sincerely after a performance – then I know I have contributed something truly valuable.
Nikita Lukinov’s Perth recital is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 27,28, 30 May (available on BBC Sounds for a month after) and he opens St Magnus Festival on 20 June, followed by a 2nd recital on 23 June.
A disciple of the Russian Piano School, Nikita Lukinov came to the UK on full scholarships initially to study at the Purcell School, followed by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for his BA, MA and Artist Diploma Degree under Prof. Petras Geniusas. Nikita’s debut CD was released with the KNS Classical label in June 2023, and at the same time, he was awarded The Governors Recital Prize for the most outstanding end-of-year performance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, resulting in a 40-concert tour of Scotland in 2024-25. He has now become the youngest senior staff member at his alma mater. He has captivated audiences as a soloist in venues such as Wigmore Hall, Usher Hall, Southbank Centre, Palau de la Música, Fazioli Hall, Verbier Festival and Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow. Additionally, both his live and studio performances have been broadcast by BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 3 and Scala Radio.
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