Over the course of his career, John Alley has been privileged to work closely with Sir John Pritchard, Pierre Boulez, Mariss Jansons, John Adams, Andrew Davis, Colin Davis, Messrs Solti, Mehta, Haitink, Masur, Gergiev, Berio, Lutoswaski and many other renowned maestros. He has performed in their own works, as well as giving many performances under them of the greatest orchestral piano repertoire, including Petrushka; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste; Bourgoeis Gentilhomme; and Ariadne auf Naxos (both piano and harmonium parts).
John was member of…
London Symphony Orchestra (Principal Keyboard Player, 1991-2015)
BBC Symphony Orchestra (Regular Keyboard Player, 1980-2010)
Between 1980-2020 John also performed and recorded major orchestral piano works with London Sinfonietta, English Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Academy of St Martin's in the Fields, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia, and other BBC orchestras.
John has given many premieres, particularly with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and features on the original recording of John Adams' Grand Pianola Music and Chamber Symphony. He has many other titles in the catalogues, including Petrushka with Nagano and LSO and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste with Nicolas Harnoncourt and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He has done hundreds of recitals and recordings for BBC Radio 3, and performed on dozens of film soundtracks.
John has made countless appearances at the BBC Proms with many of the above conductors in works with significant keyboard parts. He is also renowned for his 1992 Proms performance of the cadenza in Shostakovich's Suite for the Hypothetically Murdered (YouTube 'John Alley Proms Pint').
John is also widely published as a writer and recorder of accompaniments for several publishers. His most exciting recent work is with Elisabeth Parry in an ever-expanding series of new books for flute with downloadable accompaniment tracks (www.aureacapra.com/publications).
Choral Training and Accompanying
1979-2010 Repetiteur, BBC Singers
1979-2010 Accompanist (and deputy chorusmaster) Royal Choral Society, London Symphony Chorus, London Choral Society and others.
1975-84 Organist, Totteridge Parish Church
1973-75 Lay Clerk, Guildford Cathedral
1973-75 Organist and Choirmaster, Farnham Parish Church