Allan's Biography
Allan is widely regarded as one of the finest pianists of his generation. He brings to his performances an innate musicality allied with a beauty of touch - critics praise the clarity of his playing and his ability to make a piano sing.
He is, of course, primarily identified with and admired for his interpretation of Mozart's works; he once performed all Mozart's solo piano works in one day to raise funds for the Bristol Cancer Help Centre, and has played the complete sonatas at the Hay on Wye Festival.
His Early Years
Allan Schiller was born in Leeds into a musical family – his father was a professional violinist, clarinettist and saxophonist.
He started to learn the piano when he was six and became a pupil of Fanny Waterman two years later. At the age of ten he made a sensational debut in Leeds Town Hall playing a Mozart concerto with the Halle Orchestra under its conductor Sir John Barbirolli. This brought him to the attention of Ruth Railton, founder and director of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, who immediately invited him to appear with the orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival and on a tour of Holland and Belgium.
Only just in his Teens!
Whilst still a schoolboy he continued to give a limited number of concerts including his London debut at the Royal Festival Hall, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and at the Promenade Concerts with the N.Y.O.. At this time he produced his first highly-acclaimed recording of works ranging from Scarlatti to Bartok, was awarded the Harriet Cohen Silver Commonwealth Medal, and was seen playing part of a Beethoven concerto in a film starring Anna Neagle and Frankie Vaughan!
Intensive studies continued after he left Leeds - first with the eminent pianist Denis Matthews, who broadened his interest into the chamber music repertoire, and then in the Soviet Union with Victor Merzhanov. In 1961 Allan had become the first British pianist to win a scholarship to study at the Moscow Conservatoire. While there he was able to meet some of the most distinguished musicians in the world including David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan and Mstislav Rostropovich, with whom he was to play at the Festival Hall some years later.
In full Swing
On his return to England in 1965 his career was extremely busy with many regional recital tours, concerto engagements with all the leading British orchestras (under conductors including Solti, Haitink and Fruhbeck de Burgos) and numerous BBC broadcasts. His chamber music commitments were also wide-ranging – from his own piano trio and horn trio to partnerships with a number of instrumentalists and membership of a wind quintet and a contemporary music group. Abroad he made tours of Canada and the USA, played in Germany and Switzerland as well as returning to the Soviet Union on four occasions to cities as far apart as Archangelsk and Tbilisi.
Extensive Career
Since those early days he has developed a career which has seen him performing with all the major British Orchestras under such conductors as Bernard Haitink and George Solti, and giving hundreds of recitals and playing chamber music with some of the top instrumentalists and quartets. He has been a regular and popular BBC artist and his commercial recordings cover a vast repertoire and span a period of 50 years.
The Guardian has described him as “the ideal Mozart pianist”, and his fame for playing Mozart brought him invitations to Salzburg and Cape Town to take part in the commemorations of the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death.
Looking back, he has had a long and distinguished career (not over yet!) and considers two of the highlights to be recitals in the Philharmonic Hall in Leningrad (as it then was) and in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire. Or is that three highlights? We must not forget a visit to Balmoral to perform for Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip!
His CD Recordings
Allan's discography is extensive, spanning a period of some forty years – Mozart concertos with the L.P.O. under Sir Charles Mackerras, Delius violin sonatas with David Stone, quintets by Bridge and Elgar with the Coull Quartet, Schubert piano duets with John Humphreys and a long list of solo discs culminating with his recent issue of works by Beethoven, Mozart and Schumann. He still sells a few of his recordings directly; please see his list of available recordings.
And currently. . .
He continues to be an active performer, with regular concerts here and abroad. This is combined with occasional "master classes" for children attending local schools in Bristol, his home city. He also gives highly informative and amusing talks on his life of music.
More recently he has been combining business with pleasure by performing regularly on luxury cruise liners.