Award-winning pianist Christopher O’Riley has become one of the most influential forces in the musical world. His Kennedy Center concert Sunday illuminates the versatility of this classical pianist and host of National Public Radio’s weekly show “From the Top.”

The program, his transcriptions of works by British alternative rock band Radiohead and American composer Elliott Smith, confirms Duke Ellington’s theory that there are only two kinds of music: good and bad. A quick survey of O’Riley’s own discography reveals his affinity for new music. Along with works by Beethoven, Stravinsky, Scriabin and Ravel, his recordings are chock full of contemporary pieces by P.D.Q. Bach, John Adams, George Harrison and Roger Sessions.