Allan Schiller was born in Leeds into a musical family – my father was a professional violinist, clarinettist and saxophonist. 　　Allan Schiller started to learn the piano when I was six and became a pupil of Fanny Waterman two years later. At the age of ten he made his debut (described as 'sensational' in the press) in Leeds Town Hall playing a Mozart concerto with the Halle Orchestra under its conductor Sir John Barbirolli. This brought me to the attention of Ruth Railton, founder and director of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, who immediately invited me to appear with the orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival and on a tour of Holland and Belgium. The performances in Brussels and Amsterdam were in the famous Palais des Beaux Arts and Concertgebouw.