AllenSchiller with Anne Marie Sabath

Step inside – the music is waiting for you

The Wannabe Classical Music Aficionado is a welcoming, confidence-building guide for anyone who has ever wanted to enjoy a symphony concert without feeling lost, intimidated, or out of place. Drawing on more than thirty-five years on stage with the New York Philharmonic, violinist Allan Schiller shares 46 practical, insider insights that reveal what really happens in the concert hall-and how to listen with greater ease and pleasure.

You’ll learn how to read a concert program, when to clap (and when not to worry about it), what conductors actually communicate without words, why zoning out is part of real listening, and how centuries of musical tradition quietly shape what you hear today. Along the way, Schiller blends lived experience, backstage stories, and plain-spoken wisdom that turns formality into invitation.

Whether it’s your first concert or your fiftieth, this book helps classical music feel less like a mystery-and more like your own seat in the hall.