Ecstatic during the new tour, but Homesickness Pursues André Rieu
He is again playing the stars from the heavens and is ecstatic that after his illness he is able to tour with his Johann Strauss Orchestra through Mexico, North America and Canada but, there is also a flip side for André Rieu ... Since recently he has been struggling with a problem which had never before bothered him ... homesickness.
"You can not imagine how much I miss my grandchildren Yvan and Fleur from my son Marc and Linde and Lieke from my son Pierre", says André. "In my suitcase and in my hotel room I have pictures of all my grandchildren and that way I still have them close to me. Pierre accompanies me during the tour, so we do talk a lot about the children. Half way through the tour he will be returning to the Netherlands and then it will be different again. Pierre will be attending to more business matters in the Netherlands and because of that will not be accompanying me as often. This way he can spend more time with his family, and I understand his choice completely. I follow my grandchildren now via skype and my daughters-in-law regularly send me new pictures. Since I have been on the road for three weeks now, I am really starting to become itchy. When I was home for four months due to my illness, I saw my grandchildren every day. Now I even talk about them while on stage. I tell how much they are growing and how they resemble me, and the attendees enjoy that. Whenever they are shown on the big screen a big applause always follows. When later they are bigger, Opa will tell them all about it.
That they have been incorporated in the show, is my wife Marjorie's idea. She writes all my texts and is quite involved in my show. She often accompanies me but only if we are driving. She is actually afraid to fly. But when we are touring through Germany starting this January, she will again be part of the group. She will actually be at the concerts on April 16 in Heereveen and June 13 in the Amsterdam ArenA.
For André and his family the Holidays will be very special this year. "After everything that we experienced this past year, we will open an extra bottle of wine. Taking everything into consideration, we faired reasonably well. Luckily my health is good. Christmas is always sacred to me and I always cross those days off at the beginning of the new year so that I will be off. Then I can finally wrap my arms around my grandchildren again." ... Edwin Bredius
Thanks to Ineke for sending this article and John for ©Translating it
4 comments:
I got a lump in my throat reading that! Poor opa I feel sad for him. Sure he wil have an amazing christmas though.
I felt the same way Steph ~ but I think it's a good thing too ... those babies are going to help keep him grounded, which once he gets caught up on things he needs to do ... :)
I also got a lump in my throat, wanted to give him a big hug. I agree with what you, Sue and Steph said. Aren’t the babies gorgeous, a beautiful picture?
Bless your heart Andre, I know it is really hard being away from all those you love for so long. Could it be you are getting a little more mellow with age. I think as we get older and especially after you have been sick your family becomes more important than ever. I was at your Toronto concert December 12 and i got to speak briefly with Pierre whom i think is a very polite young man, and i know you are very proud of him. I mentioned to Pierre that i sent a gift to your four grand children which is a little piece of canada i wanted them to have. To Yvan, Linde and Lieke i sent The Canada Olympic Mitts, and to Fleur a little outfit. Take care Andre, love your family and remember very little is needed to make a happy life, Peace and Prosperity and a very Happy Christmas to each and everyone. Love you blue eyes. Barbara Gilliss
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