O'Riley subsequently recorded two well-received CDs of Radiohead transcriptions.
Madeline Adkins, the BSO's associate concertmaster, is another classical musician who has been turned on to Radiohead, in her case by her boyfriend. "He's been dragged to Mahler and Brahms, so he introduced me to Radiohead," Adkins says. "I've been to their concerts - that was a true crossover experience. I like them. Their songs are harmonically interesting, and you're always hearing new things in them."
The violinist is looking forward to hearing O'Riley's take on Radiohead in person this week (she's already checked out the pianist on YouTube). "He's not trying to create a replica," she says. "It's his own interpretation. And I think he really captures the emotional intensity of the music."
Born in Chicago, O'Riley formed his own rock band in sixth grade. In high school, at that point living in Pittsburgh, he was playing in a jazz club. Once he started studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston, he didn't confine himself to the classical canon; he was a member of the school's notable ragtime ensemble. (The pianist, who is divorced, now divides his time between homes in Sagamore, Ohio, and Los Angeles.)
O'Riley's piano career, which got a boost when he was a finalist at the 1981 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, has included appearances at many a prestigious recital hall and with a long list of major orchestras. Whether O'Riley is incisively exploring Mozart, Beethoven or Liszt, or digging into one of Radiohead's distinctively moody songs, the pianist's enthusiasm is contagious.
"You always want to be in the moment, not just presenting something, but enjoying the hall and the audience," O'Riley says. "Someone I've always revered is James Galway. He's always alive to the moment and alive to the audience. Bobby McFerrin is the same way."
O'Riley joined singer/conductor McFerrin in some improvisations when the two shared the stage for a 2005 BSO program. "With his emanation of energy, he makes you feel you can do anything," O'Riley says.
He's pretty fearless on his own, invariably making an individualistic musical statement. That can't be said of everyone out there in the classical field. Young American musicians, in particular, have long been faulted for having more technique than personality.
"That used to be a pretty apt description," O'Riley says. "Kids were not getting much help from the recording industry, which was putting out so many middle-of-the-road performances. I think this was worst in the violin category."
