Christopher O'Riley

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 artists.

O’Riley was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. He began Classical piano studies at the age of 4, and became interested in Pop music and started his own band in 6th grade. His dual-track musical interests led him to Jazz-Rock Fusion and included a professional performance in his later high school years with the Pittsburgh alto sax player Eric Kloss. His choice of music school was fortuitous as the New England Conservatory of Music had as its President in the 1970s the composer/historian, Gunther Schuller. It was upon entering NEC that O'Riley decided to pursue Classical studies exclusively 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 Scriabin, as well as a recording of Rhapsody in Blue with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

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