Christopher O’Riley Performs Piano Interpretations of Alternative Pop Acts Radiohead, Elliot Smith and Nick Drake at the Kimmel Center February 29
February 8, 2008
Wendy Lynchweb
"He is melodically vivid yet also noisily orchestral, in both his writing and playing, revoicing Radiohead’s distortions, threats, loveliness and dismay."—Rolling Stone
Acclaimed pianist Christopher O’Riley has redefined the possibilities of classical music. The versatile interpreter and arranger of alternative rock music performs solo piano transcriptions of alternative artists Radiohead, Elliot Smith and Nick Drake on Friday, February 29, 2008 at 7:30pm in Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center. The well known host of NPR’s popular classical music radio show, From the Top, has sought unique opportunities for solo piano recitals that invite audiences to experience classical music’s expanding scope with original works of acclaimed alt-pop acts. His most recent transcriptions project, Second Grace (2007), features the music of British folk singer Nick Drake, whose inspirational singer-songwriter abilities continue posthumously to influence two generations.
An Artist Chat will take place with Christopher O’Riley and Kimmel Center Director of Programming Tom Warner following the ticketed performance in Perelman Theater.
This concert is a special concert in the Fresh Ink Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season. The next concert in the series will be Fear & Loathing: The Music of Phil Kline on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 7:30pm in Perelman Theater.
Tickets for Christopher O’Riley are priced at $26 and $36 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center, through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Christopher O’Riley first introduced his highly successful and critically acclaimed classical interpretations of alternative music in 2003 with True Love Waits, a recording of transcriptions from the experimental rock band Radiohead. After releasing a second Radiohead-derived collection in 2005 entitled Hold Me to This: Christopher O’Riley plays the music of Radiohead, he then tackled the complex works of Elliot Smith on Home to Oblivion in 2006. O’Riley has also ventured into alternative territory on tour with other classical artists, including jazz pianist Fred Hersch with the program "Heard Fresh: Music for Two Pianos;" and Argentine pianist Pablo Ziegler with "Los Tangueros," featuring the classic tango music of Astor Piazzolla.
O’Riley also records and performs in traditional classical context. In 2004, O’Riley toured the United States with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the symphonies of Pittsburgh, Detroit, Colorado, Atlanta and Baltimore. The illustrious group of conductors with whom he has collaborated includes Marin Alsop, David Zinman, Leonard Slatkin, John Williams, Neeme Järvi and Bobby McFerrin, among others. O’Riley’s hit radio show From the Top can be heard on WRTI 90.1FM every Saturday at 12:30pm as well as on 250 other radio stations coast to coast. In 2007, the show was filmed for public television at Carnegie Hall and debuted on PBS in the spring.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Friday, February 29, 2008 | 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
Christopher O’Riley, piano
RADIOHEAD: Airbag
ELLIOT SMITH: Independence Day
NICK DRAKE: Place To Be
RADIOHEAD: Arpeggi
ELLIOT SMITH: Cupid’s Trick
NICK DRAKE: Hanging on a Star
RADIOHEAD: All I Need
ELLIOT SMITH: Between the Bars
NICK DRAKE: From the Morning
DAVID KING: Anthem for the Earnest
NICK DRAKE: Rider on the Wheel
RADIOHEAD: There There
ELLIOT SMITH: I Better Be Quiet Now
NICK DRAKE: River Man
RADIOHEAD: Videotape
ELLIOT SMITH: Satellite
NICK DRAKE: Parasite
RADIOHEAD: Let Down
ELLIOT SMITH: Not Half Right
RADIOHEAD: Paranoid Android
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Friday, February 29, 2008 | Post-show
Perelman Theater
Artist Chat with Christopher O’Riley
An Artist Chat will take place with Christopher O’Riley and Kimmel Center Director of Programming Tom Warner following the ticketed performance in Perelman Theater.
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