13 Facts About Christopher O'Riley

Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host.

Christopher O'Riley was the host of the weekly National Public Radio program From the Top.

Christopher O'Riley was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois.

Christopher O'Riley began classical piano studies at the age of 4, and became interested in pop music and started his own band in 6th grade.

Christopher O'Riley has received awards at the Leeds, Van Cliburn, Busoni and Montreal competitions, as well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Christopher O'Riley has since released several recordings, including works of Maurice Ravel, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jean-Philippe Rameau, John Adams, Igor Stravinsky, and Alexander Scriabin, as well as a recording of Rhapsody in Blue with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Christopher O'Riley is the former host of the weekly National Public Radio program From the Top, on which young musicians are heard and interviewed.

Christopher O'Riley first began performing Radiohead songs as a time-filler during a break in the program, to supplement preludes and miniatures by composers such as Debussy and Rachmaninoff.

True Love Waits: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead, his recording of his own piano arrangements of songs by the alternative rock band Radiohead, was released in 2003.

Christopher O'Riley says that his renditions have introduced the music of Radiohead to a classical audience as well as introducing classical music to a wider or younger audience, as he sometimes performs both standard concert repertoire, such as Shostakovich or Mozart, and Radiohead, Elliott Smith or Nick Drake interpretations at the same concert.

Christopher O'Riley describes himself as an obsessed Radiohead fan in interviews, and says he was attracted to the multilayered nature of the band's music, leading him to listen to and transcribe lesser known album tracks, live bootleg recordings of performances, b-sides, and even songs never officially released, as well as some of their hit singles.

Christopher O'Riley's work has often been distinguished from other classical rock-tribute albums by music critics, who note Christopher O'Riley's quality of playing.

Christopher O'Riley's son, Conor Redmond O'Riley, was born on June 30,1994, to Chris and his then wife, Marlene Fusaris.