Christopher O'Riley

ARTIST, PIANIST & MEDIA PERSONALITY - WWW.CHRISTOPHERO’RILEY.COM

As a prestigious artist, pianist and national media personality, Mr. O'Riley has dazzled the world over on stage, the radio and his records. His memorable interpretations of traditional and popular repertoire make him a cherished bridge between musical tastes, genres and audience worldwide.

Mr. O’Riley’s exquisite and poetic interpretations have granted him phenomenal reviews and several recording contracts with labels like Sony Classical. His warm personality has brought him to host NPR’s “From the Top” for the last 10 years. Christopher O’Riley differs from other artists in two ways. First, his repertoire spans classical styles, from

Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel and Busoni to contemporary artists such as Radiohead, Nirvana, Pink Floyd and Elliott Smith. He is the definition of a Classical Crossover artist. Second, O’Riley 's unique, passionate and heartfelt piano interpretations of both classical and popular music create unforgettable musical performances and astonishing audience experiences. His most famous recording, Radiohead “True Love Waits” album, was awarded four stars in Rolling Stone magazine, along with many other reviews available in the attached press kit. Most importantly, it has also created a dedicated and diverse fan base that appeals to all ages, uniting them through music.

TRUE LOVE WAITSChristopher O’Riley Plays RadioheadSony Classical/Odyssey

****- Rolling Stone Magazine

CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY

Artist!Management!&!Productions

EmpireStateBuilding•350FifthAve,Suite7412•NewYork,[email protected]:+1.917.497.9198EU+33.77.27.51.68Fax:+33.559.26.85.19

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HOLD ME TO THIS

These aren't easy-listening piano renditions of Radiohead tunes, but deeply inspired, often challenging and dissonant re-imaginings. O'Riley succeeds by taking the music on its own terms.He doesn't try to make it "classical" but lets the classical nature of the music ring out.

HOME OBLIVION: ELLIOTT SMITH

TRIBUTE

O’Riley turns symphonic excursions for solo piano technique on Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter of considerably more fragile design but who still reveled in idiosyncratic song structures and dense arrangements.

SECOND GRACE: THE MUSIC OF NICK

DRAKE

Pianist Christopher O'Riley again dances with the possibility of cliché and instead pirouettes into art. Second Grace: The Music of Nick Drake marks his fourth album of covers,

SHORT BIOGRAPHY

From his groundbreaking transcriptions of Radiohead to his unforgettable interpretations of classic and new repertoire, pianist Christopher O'Riley redefines the possibilities of classical music. He takes his unique vision to both traditional classical music venues and symphonic settings, as well as to entirely new audiences on the radio, TV, performances halls, universities and even clubs. As host of the most popular classical music radio show on the air today, “From the Top” (nationally distributed on National Public Radio and now TV), Mr. O'Riley works and performs with the next generation of brilliant young musicians.

An interpreter and arranger of some of the most important contemporary rock music of our time, Chris is a cherished bridge between musical tastes, genres, media and audiences, fostering the new generation contemporary artist personality. His recording of Radiohead transcriptions, "True Love Waits" (Sony/Odyssey) received 4 stars from Rolling Stone and is as critically acclaimed as it is commercially successful. His second pop interpretation of music from the British alt-pop outfit, entitled "Hold Me to This: Christopher O'Riley plays the music of Radiohead,", released on World Village/Harmonia Mundi in the Spring of 2005 is as successful. Following, O’Riley’s latest recordings, Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute, released in 2006 and his latest “Second Grace: The Music of Nick Drake” are all available on itunes and on his site. Chris O’Riley is just beginning!

- for more see full bio below or visit the site www.ChristopherOriley.com

LATEST ALBUM RELEASES



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CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY ARTIST, PIANIST & MEDIA PERSONALITY WWW.CHRISTOPHERO’RILEY.COM


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DISCOGRAPHY

ALBUM NAME OR CONTENT DATE

RELEASED

Christopher O’Riley Second Grace :The Music of Nick DrakeWorld VIllage (B000N6U1CS)

Apr 10, 2007

Home to Oblivion: Elliott Smith Tribute World Village (B000EWBKIA)

Jun 1, 2006

Hold Me to This: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead World Village ( B0007TFI4W)

Apr 12, 2005

True Love Waits: O'Riley Plays Radiohead Sony Classical/Odyssey ( B00009MGQ4)

Jun 10, 2003

Christopher O'Riley At The Break Mcg / Public Radio (October 1, 2001)

Oct 1, 2001

Scriabin: Vers la Flamme . . . Image Recordings (9902)

Jan 1, 2000

Le Grand Tango: Music of Latin AmericaHelicon Records (B000005BIQ)

Oct 29, 1997

The French RecitalRCA (B000003FZO)

Jan 16, 1996

P.D.Q. Bach: The Short-Tempered Clavier Telarc (80390)

Aug 29, 1995

Igor Stravinsky: Histoire du Soldat; Pétrouchka; ApolloElektra / WEA (B000005J2U)

Jun 21, 1994

Ravel, Gershwin and Debussy Intersound Records (2805)

4169

Ferruccio Busoni, Franz Liszt, J.S.Bach - Mephisot Waltz, Chacconne, Fantasia CotrappuntisticaCentaur Records - (B0000057ST)

Sep 1, 1993

Beethoven: Sonatas for piano No14; Sonatas for piano No21 Koch Discover Int'l (920381)

4352

Robert Helps, John Adams, Todd Brief, Roger SessionsAlbany Records (B0000049LH)

Jun 2, 1990



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As a prolific recording artist with over 18 years making albums with the world’s greatest and most recognized record labels in the world, Chris has won acclaims for both his classical and contemporary musical interpretations. Christopher’s passionate musical poetry translates well in the studio and have culminated in sales well over 250,000 records. Continuing, Chris will release a new record in 2009 using 5.1 technology and new distribution...








PRESS QUOTES & CRITICAL ACCLAIM

“O’Riley’s greatest accomplishment, however, is the ability to introduce young fans of contemporary artists like Radiohead and Smith to classical music. And by the looks of the cultural center audience, he is succeeding in his attempt to locate a midpoint between genres that often struggle to find a common ground.”

-The Chicago Tribune

“He certainly brought imagination and talent to the endeavour.” -Los Angeles Times

“Whether executing a lithe dance on the keys in its fastest passages or pounding out those sprawling, complex chords that only the notoriously large-handed Rachmaninoff could play with ease, O’Riley was outstanding throughout.”

-Pioneer Press

“But the Liberace tribute was O’Riley’s main event. Its four movements traversed boogie- woogie funk, a funeral tango, a dreamy, rippling solo cadenza derived from notes of the bottom of Liberace’s swimming pool, and a hyperbizzare finale that combined Shrine convention orientalism with showy romanticism in the style of Rachmaninoff. O’Riley delivered it all shamelessly and just about flawlessly, with great fluidity and even a touch of Liberace’s insouciance.”

-San Antonio Express “Infectious passion”

-Los Angeles Times

“...O’Riley played so delicately that he seemingly left no fingerprints on the keys, yet his melodies sung out with sweet clarity...”

-The Washington Post

“The playing was spirited a nuanced in feeling—and scrupulously polished in phrasing and articulation, tone and texture.”

-Pittsburgh-Live

“...O’Riley has found a tantalizing way to bridge pop and classical, and judging by the ovation he got from the nearly full house, he has already won converts.”

-The Chicago Tribune

“With unblinking virtuosity, [O’Riley] captures the band’s signature contradiction: encountering something exhilarating...and feeling simultaneously somehow unwell.”

-Rolling Stone

“[O’Riley’s] adaptations, Lisztian in scope and technical demands, were ingenious, especially when one considers the density and harmonic intrigue of the originals. Such is the risk of being on the cutting edge, but O’Riley still rules. If I had a lighter, I would have flicked it.”

-The Oregonian



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PRESS QUOTES & CRITICAL ACCLAIM -CONTINUED

“The graying of audiences at venerable music institutions has been a worrisome trend for quite some time, and solutions are hard to come by. In a culture that favors ephemeral sensation over works that have met the test of time, classical organizations struggle to attract new, young listeners. Christopher O’Riley is a world-class pianist who has...recorded Scriabin and Stravinsky, and recently toured the United States with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra playing Bach, Mozart, and Liszt. The pianist has always been eclectic...yet his passion for Radiohead has given his career a whole new dimension, and he has taken this new repertoire on the road in a serious way.”

-New York Sun

“O’Riley’s playing is laced with an otherwordly elegance that can’t be duplicated.” -Spendid.com

“Fans of Radiohead take their love of the band very seriously. Classical pianist Christopher O’Riley, however, has taken his admiration further. O’Riley has recorded two full albums of Radiohead transcriptions for solo piano. O’Riley’s tastes are famously diverse, and his repertoire ranges from Beethoven to new music by Aaron Jay Kernis to collaborations with tango pianist Pablo Ziegler...with this kind of genre fluidity, playing each style undoubtedly influences the other in his work.”

-Billboard Magazine

“What makes these versions so satisfyingly far from being “covers” is their density and complexity of musical thought and their outright refusal to portray the originals by mimicking them. Like Radiohead’s songs, O’Riley’s versions are easy to get stuck on/ Once this CD makes it into your player, it may stay there a while. Listen to “Sail to the Moon” and you just might.”

-Bay Area Reporter

“O’Riley’s integration of oceanic momentum and melodic and harmonic beauty is not only virtually peerless in piano music but rivals that of the greatest art-rock bands, Radiohead included.”

-The Absolute Sound PRESS PHOTOS AVAILABLE IN HIGH RESOLUTION ON REQUEST



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BIOGRAPHY

From his groundbreaking transcriptions of Radiohead to his powerful interpretations of repertoire classic and contemporary, pianist Christopher O’Riley has redefined the possibilities of classical music. He has taken his unique vision to both traditional classical music venues and symphonic settings, as well as to entirely new audiences on the radio, at universities and even clubs. As host of the most popular classical music radio show on the air today, National Public Radio’s From the Top, Mr. O’Riley works and performs with the next generation of brilliant young musicians, demonstrating to audiences, with humor and a lack of pretense, that these young artists are as characterful and diverse in their personal lives as they are in their music-making. In 2007, From the Top was filmed for public television in Zankel Concert Hall at Carnegie Hall and debuted on PBS in the spring. The series is now airing its third season.

An interpreter and arranger of some of the most important contemporary popular music of our time, O’Riley lives by the Duke Ellington adage, “there are only two kinds of music, good music and bad.” His first recording of Radiohead transcriptions, ”True Love Waits” (Sony/Odyssey) received 4 stars from Rolling Stone and was as critically acclaimed as it was commercially successful. His second set of music from the British alt-pop outfit, entitled “Hold Me to This: Christopher O’Riley plays the music of Radiohead,” was released on World Village/Harmonia Mundi to a similarly enthusiastic response. In April 2006, his third set of transcriptions was released on the same label. Entitled “Home to Oblivion; An Elliott Smith Tribute,” Mr. O’Riley this time tackles the deeply emotional and complex work from the troubled singer/songwriter who died prematurely in 2003. His most recent recording, released in April 2007 and entitled “Second Grace: The Music of Nick Drake,” is a disc of transcriptions of the music by the British folk singer. Nick Drake died in 1974 after releasing just 3 albums, yet influenced two generations of songwriters in his wake. Just as his radio show and his contemporary classical recordings have created extraordinary buzz, so have his performances in traditional classical context. In November 2004, Mr. O’Riley toured the U.S. with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra visiting 10 cities in 2 weeks, playing Bach, Mozart and Liszt concerti. He has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Minnesota Orchestra, the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Detroit, Colorado, Atlanta and Baltimore. The illustrious group of conductors with whom he has collaborated includes Marin Alsop, David Zinman, Leonard Slatkin, John Williams, Neeme Järvi, Bobby McFerrin, Hans Graf, Yoel Levi, Hugh Wolff and Andrew Litton. Performances in the 2008-2009 season include tours with James Galway and cellist Carter Brey, recitals at the University of Colorado Boulder, Duke University, Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, and orchestral engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, and Atlantic Classical Orchestra. At the Miller Theatre in New York City, Mr. O’Riley will showcase his own arrangements alongside Classical repertoire in three programs juxtaposing works of Shostakovich (Preludes and Fugues) with Radiohead, Claude Debussy (Images and Estampes) with Nick Drake, and Robert Schumann (Arabeske and Kreisleriana) with Elliott Smith. This season also finds O’Riley playing recitals in many of the great European cities: London, Paris, Munich, Berlin, Salzburg and Vienna.

An enthusiastic advocate of new music, Mr. O’Riley has twice participated in the annual “Absolute Concerto” concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, a brainchild of O’Riley’s fan in the 80’s, Andy



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Warhol, premiering works by Richard Danielpour and Michael Torke. In 1999-2000 he performed Michael Daugherty’s “Le Tombeau de Liberace” with the Detroit Symphony and with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, both in St. Paul and on tour. He has also recently given premieres of works by Aaron Jay Kernis, including his piano quartet, “Still Movement with Hymn,” (also recorded for Decca’s Argo label) and the “Superstar” Etude No. 1, inspired by the pianism of Jerry Lee Lewis.

From early in his career, Mr. O’Riley was honored with many awards at the Leeds, Van Cliburn, Busoni and Montreal competitions, as well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant. He was also a finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1981. Among his many solo releases are a Scriabin disc for Image Recordings and an all-Stravinsky disc on Elektra Nonesuch, featuring “Three Movements from Petrouchka” and Mr. O’Riley’s first foray into transcriptions with his own versions of “Apollo” and “Histoire du Soldat.” Other recordings include an RCA Victor Red Seal release of French repertoire for flute and piano with James Galway; his audacious debut disc of music of Busoni including the monumental ‘Fantasia Contrapuntistica’, a disc of Ravel’s solo works; a recording of Beethoven Piano Sonatas; a collaboration with cellist Carter Brey entitled “Le Grand Tango”; and the premiere recording of P.D.Q Bach’s “The Short-Tempered Clavier” by the fabled composer-satirist Peter Schickele. Other contemporary composers he has recorded include Richard Danielpour, Robert Helps, Todd Brief, Roger Sessions and John Adams. In addition to his own transcriptions, Mr. O’Riley has ventured into alternate territory on tour with other classical artists. He has developed programs with fellow pianists: “Heard Fresh: Music for Two Pianos,” with the jazz pianist Fred Hersch; and “Los Tangueros,” with the Argentinian pianist Pablo Ziegler, a program of two-piano arrangements that feature Astor Piazzolla’s classic tangos. In 1999 he collaborated with choreographer and director Martha Clarke, who staged several stories of Anton Chekhov set to the piano works of Alexander Scriabin, performed live on stage by Mr. O’Riley. This production, titled “Vers la Flamme,” toured Europe and the United States, and was presented by Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, among others. As Mr. O’Riley continues to create new directions in which to take the solo piano recital, the demand for his work internationally has continued to grow. He has performed his transcriptions at major jazz festivals in Istanbul, London, San Francisco and Sicily as well as on a tour of the U.K. He recently appeared at the Belfast Festival and he debuted in Australia at the 2006 Sydney Festival. O’Riley studied with Russell Sherman at the New England Conservatory of Music. Christopher O’Riley splits his time between Los Angeles and rural Ohio. His radio and tv show can be found on-line at www.fromthetop.org. His personal website is at www.christopheroriley.com.

September 2008



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PROPOSED REPERTOIRE AND LIVE PERFORMANCES

CLASSICAL & CROSSOVER POP

DEBUSSY - DRAKE - PROGRAM

Reflet dans l’eau - Claude Debussy

Introduction-Bryter Layter - Nick Drake (arr O’Riley)Hommage a Rameau - Debussy Fly DrakePagodesJoeyLa soiree dans GranadeHanging on a StarMouvement

Intermission

One of These Things FirstPoissons d’orPlace To BeEt la lune descend sur le temple qui futThree HoursCloches a travers les feuillesFrom The MorningJardins sous la pluie

SCHOSTAKOVICH-RADIOHEAD PROGRAM

Dmitri Shostakovich: Prelude & Fugue, Op. 87 #18 in f minorRadiohead: No SurprisesShostakovich: Prelude & Fugue, Op. 87 #19 in Eb MajorRadiohead: Subterranean Homesick AlienElliott Smith: Not Half RightShostakovich: Prelude & Fugue, Op. 87 #20 in c minorRadiohead: Paranoid Android

Intermission

Shostakovich: Prelude & Fugue, Op. 87 #21 in Bb MajorRadiohead: There ThereElliott Smith: I Better Be Quiet NowShostakovich: Prelude & Fugue, Op. 87 #22 in g minorRadiohead: Let DownShostakovich: Prelude & Fugue, Op. 87 #23 in F MajorRadiohead: VideotapeShostakovich: Prelude & Fugue, Op. 87 #24 in d minnor

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CLASSICAL & CROSSOVER POP

SCHUMAN - ELLIOTT SMITH PROGRAM

Schumann: Arabesque, Op. 18

Elliott Smith (arr. O’Riley): Roman Candle

Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16

1. Ausserst bewegt Elliott Smith: Independence Day I Didn’t Understand

2. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch/Intermezzo I: Sehr lebhaft Intermezzo II: Etwas bewegter Elliott Smith: New Disaster Between the Bars

3. Sehr aufgeregt Elliott Smith: Cupid’s Trick

4. Sehr langsam Elliott Smith: Waltz #1 Christian Brothers 5. Sehr lebhaft Elliott Smith: Stupidity Tries I Better Be Quiet Now 6. Sehr langsam Elliott Smith: Go By

7. Sehr rasch Elliott Smith: Coast to Coast Not Half Right 8. Schnell und spielend

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CROSSOVER POP

ELLIOTT SMITH FULL PROGRAM

Roman Candle 4.00Let’s Get Lost 4.00Everything Means Nothing To Me 3.31Between the Bars 2.37Independence Day 3.23Satellite 3.28Cupid’s Trick 3.25I Better Be Quiet Now 3.45No Life 4.30I Didn’t Understand 2.35Christian Brothers 5.30Waltz #1 3.10Not Half Right 4.20Stupidity Tries 3.15Tomorrow Tomorrow 3.35Oh Well, Okay 3.10Speed Trials 3.50Coast to Coast 5.15

Encore: Bye 1.35

RADIOHEAD PROGRAM

There ThereNice DreamAirbagNo SurprisesLike Spinning PlatesSail to the MoonPolyethylene Part II2+2=5Gagging OrderLet DownStreet SpiritParanoid Android

Encores: Radiohead: Motion Picture SoundtrackElliott Smith: ByeRadiohead You

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CROSSOVER POP

RADIOHEAD - ELLIOTT - DRAKE MIXED

Radiohead: AirbagElliott Smith: Independence DayNick Drake: Place To BeRadiohead: ArpeggiElliott Smith: Cupid’s TrickNick Drake: Hanging on a StarRadiohead: All I NeedElliott Smith: Between the BarsNick Drake: From the MorningDavid King (of The Bad Plus): Anthem for the Earnest

Nick Drake: Rider on the WheelRadiohead: There ThereElliott Smith: I Better Be Quiet NowNick Drake: River ManRadiohead: VideotapeElliott Smith: SatelliteNick Drake: ParasiteRadiohead: Let DownElliott Smith: Not Half RightRadiohead: Paranoid Android

encores:Radiohead: Motion Picture SoundtrackElliott Smith: ByeRadiohead You



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Christopher O'Riley

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