Chris O'Riley presents eclectic lineup

With his soft-spoken voice, pianist Christopher O’Riley asked the audience members at the IU Auditorium Tuesday night about their interest in his performance. He asked whether they came for his renditions of the modern popular music of Radiohead, or his arrangements of pieces from the 20th century classical composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Most of the younger audience was there for Radiohead, with the exception of music students who were there for both. The older audience was there for his renditions of Shostakovich pieces or knew him from his show on National Public Radio, “From the Top.”\nO’Riley alternated between playing Radiohead songs and Shostakovich pieces, throwing a couple of Elliot Smith songs in for good measure. The Shostakovich pieces were more tranquil, as he is a classical composer. In between Shostakovich pieces, he played Radiohead songs, changing the mood with different dynamics and tempo. With only one piano, O’Riley somehow brought about the sound of at least two pianos (or maybe just one piano, but with four hands). He was able to clearly articulate the different instruments and the vocals in his piano-only version of the Radiohead songs, which are already intricate and wide-ranging in their dynamics.\n“Radiohead’s a band that’s pretty dense to begin with, so it makes it that much harder,” said sophomore Alex Tebeleff.\nWith schizophrenic changes in tempo, volume, and highs and lows, “Paranoid Android” built up in speed and volume. The notes were precise.\n“For Radiohead, ‘Paranoid Android’ was my favorite because I know how difficult it is and he made it look like it wasn’t,” said junior Ed Cohen, a piano performance major.\nThe Shostakovich pieces seemed to be a peaceful break from the hectic, emotionally driven Radiohead and Elliot Smith songs. \n“I liked the last Shostakovich piece (Prelude and Fugue, Op. 87 #24 in D Minor) because of the way he kept bringing it higher,” said Cohen. “Just when you thought he couldn’t go up any more, he would”\nFollowing the finale, the audience gave O’Riley a standing ovation. O’Riley came back out, and thanked the crowd.\nAfter the show, O’Riley signed autographs and talked to fans. In conversation with one fan, O’Riley humbly said, “I totally admit I don’t have an original thought in my head,” in regards to doing others’ music and not creating his own. “I’m just trying to play what I love.”