Allan Schiller is a retired violinist of The New York Philharmonic, where he performed from 1964 to 1999 under legendary conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, and Kurt Masur. His musical life began after his family escaped Poland in 1939, when his father gave him his first violin-an act of hope in the shadow of the Holocaust. Raised in Tel Aviv, Paris, and New York, and later a Fulbright recipient in Brussels, Schiller now draws on decades of experience to welcome readers into classical music with confidence, curiosity, and joy.