Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He is the host of the weekly National Public Radio program From the Top. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative pop artists.
O’Riley was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. Beginning with a background in jazz, O'Riley switched to classical piano and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. In...
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Christopher O'Riley is an American classical pianist and public radio show host. He is the host of the weekly National Public Radio program From the Top. O'Riley is also known for his piano arrangements of songs by alternative pop artists.
O’Riley was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. Beginning with a background in jazz, O'Riley switched to classical piano and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1981 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. He has received awards at the Leeds, Van Cliburn, Busoni and Montreal competitions, as well as an Avery Fisher Career Grant. O'Riley has made many recordings of classical music. His debut album, a collection of the works of Ferruccio Busoni, including the seldom performed Fantasia Contrappuntistica, was released in 1983. He has since released several recordings, including works of Maurice Ravel, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jean-Philippe Rameau, John Adams, Igor Stravinsky, and Alexander...
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