Reflections from the June 2025 SHARE Symposium

Inspiration is a concept that lies at the heart of artistic practice, yet it remains elusive and often misunderstood. In popular discourse, it is frequently imagined as a spontaneous flash of brilliance - a sudden moment of transcendence in which the artist becomes a conduit for something greater than themselves. While this romanticised notion may hold symbolic appeal, it does not accurately reflect the experience of many artists engaged in sustained creative or research-based work.

This article offers a reflection on the nature of inspiration from the perspective of a performer and doctoral researcher in music. Drawing on lived experience and practice-led inquiry, it proposes that inspiration is not a passive gift, but an active, multi-layered process that emerges through preparation, openness, and reflection.

Beyond the Myth of Sudden Illumination

Classical representations of inspiration often emphasise spontaneity over process. The artist is imagined as being struck by sudden genius, independent of context, effort, or continuity. Yet for those engaged in artistic research and interpretive performance, this image is unhelpful. It risks detaching inspiration from the very conditions that make it possible.

In reality, inspiration frequently arises through a deep engagement with existing material. In the context of musical performance, it involves sustained dialogue with the score, with the historical and philosophical contexts of the work, and with one’s own interpretive intuition. It is a gradual unfolding that begins with close listening, careful questioning, and a sensitivity to what lies both within and beyond the text.

The Role of Discipline and Curiosity

The Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky once observed, “Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy.” This statement should not be read as a call for constant productivity, but rather as an affirmation of the essential role of effort in creative life. Far from being accidental, inspiration often arises through rigorous preparation - through research, practice, and intellectual inquiry.

Curiosity plays a foundational role in this process. It motivates the artist to explore, to ask questions, and to resist surface-level interpretations. Why was this musical gesture chosen? What world does this work emerge from? What emotional or symbolic dimensions does it suggest? These questions do not yield immediate answers, but they open the possibility of deeper engagement. They create a fertile ground in which inspiration can take root.

The Necessity of Stillness

Yet preparation alone is not sufficient. There is also a need for pause - for stillness. Once the analytical groundwork has been laid, the artist must make space for intuition to surface. Often, the most profound insights come not during moments of active study, but in times of rest, reflection, or quiet contemplation. A shift in understanding may occur while walking, dreaming, or simply sitting with the music without trying to solve it.

Rather than moving back and forth between effort and release, inspiration requires that both modes coexist in balance. Preparation and reflection are not opposing forces but complementary aspects of a single process. It is through their interplay that artistic insight becomes possible. The mind is engaged, but not overburdened; the imagination is free, but not directionless.

Inspiration in Artistic Research: Medtner as Case Study

This understanding of inspiration deeply informs my doctoral research, which focuses on the Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Medtner (1880–1951). Medtner, a contemporary of Rachmaninoff and Scriabin, is notable not only for his intricate compositions but also for his philosophical writings on the nature of music and artistic truth.

Medtner viewed music as a moral and spiritual act. For him, artistic creation was inseparable from ethical responsibility and philosophical depth. His piano works - particularly the Skazki (Fairy Tales), reflect a commitment to narrative richness, symbolic resonance, and emotional complexity. Although brief in form, these miniatures demand from the performer a heightened sensitivity to structure, tone, and meaning. They reveal their depth only through long engagement and imaginative listening.

In his own words, Medtner wrote that “An artist must be as modern as this very moment and as ancient as the world.” This duality - of inhabiting the present while remaining connected to the enduring values of the past captures the central tension that artistic inspiration often embodies. It suggests that to be truly inspired is not to abandon tradition, but to renew it through personal insight and creative integrity.

Conclusion

Inspiration, understood as a lived and cultivated phenomenon, is not an isolated moment of brilliance but a continuous, evolving process. It involves curiosity, discipline, reflection, and receptivity. It emerges when the artist commits both to the rigour of research and to the vulnerability of intuition. It is sustained by the ability to remain open to discovery, even in periods of difficulty or doubt.

The SHARE Symposium created a valuable space in which to explore these ideas collectively - to examine how artistic researchers encounter, cultivate, and respond to inspiration in diverse contexts. What became clear across these conversations is that inspiration is not a mysterious exception to the creative process; it is the process, at its most attentive and authentic.

About the Author

Pianist and contemporary artist Sholpan Sharbakova Miller is a versatile performer shaped by the rich traditions of both the Russian and European piano schools. A student of distinguished mentors Grigoriy Gordon in Moscow and Hamish Milne in London, she carries forward their legacy with a distinctive voice that bridges rigorous tradition and contemporary artistic expression. Her career encompasses acclaimed performances across Europe, Russia, and Kazakhstan; conceptual premieres at international art fairs; and interdisciplinary collaborations that unite music, theatre, and visual art.

Image credit: Shola Miller, Columna Vertebralis, 195.9cmx149cm, Mixed Media on Canvas, London 2013