Liszt and Radiohead: A Night With Christopher O'Riley

The program for Thursday night's performance said pianist would perform covers of Liszt.

That description, much like the Elliott Smith song O'Riley has covered, was "Half Right." Yes, O'Riley was the artist who performed Thursday night, but in addition to Liszt covers, the classical pianist performed his arrangements of songs by more contemporary musicians like Radiohead, Elliott Smith and Tears for Fears.

Luckily, in the opinion of this humble reviewer, that's just what O'Riley does best. The Chicago-born, Evanston-raised and classically trained musician has always maintained a fascinating relationship with pop music. O'Riley, who hosts the National Public Radio (NPR) program "From the Top," grew a name for himself when he released his debut, classical album in 1983. However, it wasn't until 20 years later that he revealed his unique talent by releasing True Love Waits: Christopher O'Riley Plays Radiohead. 

The album was intended as a tribute to one of the world's most renowned and influential experimental rock bands, but it accomplished much more than that. O'Riley captured the nuance of Radiohead's songs without simplifying them, a skill he would use again and again after. Two years later he released a second Radiohead tribute album, followed by Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute. His most recent album, Out of My Hands, is a collection of covers of songs by artists as varied as Nirvana, Pink Floyd and Tori Amos.

On Thursday, O'Riley performed a mix of classical and contemporary. He began with Elliott Smith's "Waltz #1" and continued with arrangements of Radiohead songs like "Paranoid Android," as well as the song "Mad World," originally by Tears for Fears, covered by Gary Jules for the film Donnie Darko and then covered again by O'Riley.

"This is a cover... of a cover," O'Riley said with a smile before beginning.

One of the most interesting portions of the evening came just before intermission, when O'Riley performed a selection of Bernard Herrmann's score from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The music began meditatively before building into the tense, nerve-racking music played during the film's infamous shower scene.

It was clear from some of the audience's reaction that O'Riley's decision to veer so far off-program didn't please everyone; the woman sitting next to me, for example, left in a huff at intermission and didn't bother returning after. However, when O'Riley finished his set with an incredible rendition of Liszt's "Reminiscences de Don Juan," the crowd rose for an enthusiastic standing ovation, then politely sat down again for O'Riley's encore: "Bye," by Elliott Smith.

"It's different," an audience member said to his wife after the show. "It's nice being exposed to new things."