Christopher O'Riley has redefined the possibilities of classical music

It's been a dozen years since pianist Christopher O'Riley last performed with the Santa Rosa Symphony.

In the interim, the multitalented Midwesterner has continued to evolve, using his early experience in jazz and rock as a springboard to new heights as a classical artist.

From his high-profile role as the host of "From the Top" -- a public radio show centered on young musicians -- to his groundbreaking arrangements of songs by the Brit alt-rock band Radiohead, O'Riley, 51, has earned a reputation for innovation coupled with a refreshing lack of pretense.

This weekend, he will tackle Bartok's Concerto No. 1 with the Santa Rosa Symphony. The concerto looks back to the Viennese School and to Brahms, whose Symphony No. 1 will round out the second half of the program conducted by Music Director Bruno Ferrandis.

O'Riley likes to perform pieces he feels passionate about. Under his nimble fingers and carefully crafted arrangements, an eclectic stream of pop music has migrated to the classical music stage over the years.

"It's really sort of a selfish enterprise," he said in a phone interview from northeast Ohio, where he spends most of his time. "It's always been about the song . . . a couple of Cocteau Twin songs, a Stephen Sondheim song. Things just take me over."

At the same time, the virtuoso has championed new music from within the classical world, premiering eclectic works by Richard Danielpour and Aaron Jay Kernis while recording well-known gems by Beethoven, Ravel and Scriabin.

"Basically I play what I like to play, and sometimes that involves the great pieces of the classical repertoire," he said. "Just extending the boundaries is a lost cause . . . you should play what you believe in."

What O'Riley believes in -- and preaches to young musicians -- is really not new. He tells them to work hard, find their own voice and stay connected to the tradition.

"In my day, you were pretty much tied to the top virtuoso of the day," he said "But kids are much more explorative these days. They are watching videos on U-Tube. They know who (violinist) Jascha Heifetz is."

Here are some of O'Riley's thoughts on the Bay Area, the Bartok concerto and his penchant for playing outside of the box.

Q: You've recorded three albums of Radiohead transcriptions. What was it about this band that attracted you?

A: I first read about them in 1997, when "OK Computer" came out. That was their breakthrough record. I don't think I ever heard it, but it seemed like this was an important musical event.

My association with Radiohead and other people's music was not a late arrival. I started out playing classical music, but from the sixth grade on, I had my own rock and jazz-rock band. In high school, I was playing in a jazz club professionally.

At New England Conservatory, I wanted to continue with both, but that was a problem. I decided the classical stuff was more challenging, but I never gave up listening to the other stuff.

Q: How does your musical taste help your radio show stay relevant to young people?

A: When I was growing up and studying piano, I don't think my piano teacher appreciated my playing jazz or rock on the side. Now, I think kids can be frank with us on national radio. They may be going through the same problems with genre prejudice, and "this music vs. that music."

We're partially responsible for that. A girl who sings Handel arias pipes up and says there's this Korean hip-hop band that she's absolutely mad about. . . . It's more open season than it used to be.

Q: Why do you think the radio show has become so popular? Is it because you try to show the performers as real people?

A: We're very directly cultivating an audience that perhaps wasn't there before . . . not to make the music cheap, but to foster sympathy with our guests. I think audiences respond to that and get to know the performers, and then they give the music a chance. Every place I go we sell out.

Q: What's involved with the production of this show, and how much time does it involve?

A: We tape 20 live events a year . . . all on the road, whenever and wherever we're at. We tape in front of a live audience, and we cut it down to an hour. Tapings are as relaxed as possible, and we try and set up the best atmosphere that we can.

Q: You still own a house in Los Angeles, but what is your connection to the Bay Area?

A: I played with the Santa Rosa Symphony when Jeffrey (Kahane) was the conductor, and I've played with the Napa Symphony.

My grandparents live in San Francisco and Palo Alto, so I was literally in Northern California every summer while growing up. My grandfather started out as a brewmaster for Hamm's (Brewery) in San Francisco.

Q: What are the challenges of Bartok's Concerto No. 1, and how are you going to approach them?

A: I think the Bartok is not as challenging as a lot of 20th-century music. . . . It's generous and has a capacious sense of musical and sonic balance and color, common to both the orchestration and the piano parts.

But there are a lot of decisions to be made. There are few dynamics . . . there are very few expressive markings. Bartok died before finishing the last 17 bars.

So you have to be collaborative. I like having interaction with the conductor and the orchestra, and to come to something that everyone can be comfortable and excited about.

Q: You've arranged a lot of pop and classical music for the piano. Have you ever thought about composing?

A: I've never really come up with my own tunes.

It's like the kids I took piano lessons with. Some of us were busting our butts to get the Mozart sonata done. And then others were messing around with it.

I really like getting into the character of the composer and trying to channel some kind of energy specific to that piece that I'm trying to make come alive.

You can reach Staff Writer Diane Peterson at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@

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