André Rieu 2011 Christmas Special

For Months In a Christmas Atmosphere

Chapeau Nov/Dec 2011: It's not that we wanted to be first, but I think this year we decorated the Christmas tree much earlier than the garden centers which they normally do fairly early ... And with us it was not only "the Christmas tree" itself, but almost an entire pine forest, a complete larger than life nativity, a church, a castle, gardens, terraces, just to name a few.

It has been Christmas time in and around our castle since this summer, and even a "White Christmas"! And all that because of a request by ZDF (German TV Channel) to produce a huge Christmas Concert for Christmas Eve. Well, we knew that! First we thought about doing recordings at only one single location; for example, in a large barn, or in the caves of Valkenburg. But by now you know that we do not do things half way, we always prefer to produce something very special. Marjorie and I came up with more and more ideas, and we could envision them all.

In addition, my record company wanted to have a DVD for the U.S. market, titled: "Home for Christmas". So we transformed the garden of our castle "De Torentjes" ("The little towers") into a magical winter scene, completely in a Christmas atmosphere. Especially for the American market, we recorded pieces like "Jingle Bells" and "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" at the Casino Slavante, which was transformed for this occasion into a Swiss chalet, and decorated according to American standards with very many lights and glitter. The last part of the Christmas special was recorded in the St. Peter's Church, opposite our house, with the men’s choir "Maastreechter Staar" and the children’s choir "Sjamaas". Days, evenings and nights long we recorded everything. Now I understand why shooting a big Hollywood movie takes so long! When you want one minute of good material, you are busy for hours.

And it even resembled a bit of Hollywood, with all the attributes and techniques we acquired. The snow machines for instance, came from Hollywood and provided complete snow carpets. The fall of 2011 which was so extremely hot, we played with the orchestra dressed in heavy sweaters and woolen hats. With temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius (81F) at night, it was almost unbearable! The audience too sat in winter coats and fur hats on the terrace of Slavante, with Christmas bread and hot mulled wine, while they would have preferred a cool rosé, or a nice refreshing cool beer! But everyone still enjoyed the great atmosphere, including us as well as the public.

As a television special, this one was the biggest we have produced up until now. In fact it was as large an operation as the reconstruction of Schnbrunn castle, but this time the bookkeeping turned out a lot better! All in all, we’ll look back with pleasure on all the preparations and recordings. And the result is fantastic! Marjorie thinks (and she thinks that every time) this was the best we have ever produced. And we are also very proud that we again have been able to create another wonderful product in our own city. The progress of Maastricht in DVD land is unstoppable. For those who would like to view this special: it will be broadcast by ZDF on December 24th at 8.15PM. (CET) ZDF Television show, a mammoth production.

The television directing was done by Limburger Lida Huver, who previously directed the wonderful special of the flower island Mainau for us. The production itself, we, Marjorie and I, do ourselves together with our own people. No, there is not a ZDF director, or someone from Hollywood involved. We do appreciate the fact that ZDF trusts us in that aspect, and by now we know so very well what we want, so that everything almost goes automatically. Well sort of, but all by itself? No, of course not ... it too was an incredible amount of work. Marjorie sighed: "I thought you wanted to take it a little easier, we have never been busier!"

And "In between" we also did, as it happened, our normal tours, such as to America and Mexico where the audience went crazy again. This year we will again go to America and will also do a few performances in the neighborhood, such as in Brussels, Hasselt and Arnhem. In the meantime we are also very busy with the preparation for the first performances in Brazil in May. The way it looks right now, it is going to explode there, since there seems to be so much interest there. It is possible that we might have to go back there again in the summer, so that for us will become a new and important destination ... But in the meantime our family and grandchildren will definitely take time to really celebrate Christmas, which I find every year for myself to be a wonderful time of relaxation and cozy togetherness. We do not need to put up the Christmas tree any more,  everything is ready and that does make a difference ... André Rieu

Thanks to Ineke and John for the Translation of this article

The André Rieu Story on UK Television (video)

Thanks so much to Mike Worsdell for recording this and posting it right away.

►The André Rieu Story on UK Television Part One 

►The André Rieu Story on UK Television Part Two

André Rieu Delivers a Fun-Filled Show in Buffalo

 Violinist Rieu Delivers a Fun-Filled Show in Buffalo

Andre Rieu, dapper violinist and leader of the Johann Strauss Orchestra, was in town on Monday, playing First Niagara Center. He gave us a show to remember.

This was my first time seeing Rieu live, and I will be seeing his smiling face in my dreams. Rieu had fun in Buffalo. You could tell. Buffalonians, so free of vanity, gave him plenty of opportunity for his unique vaudeville humor.

►Click HERE To Read Full Review ... ►Click HERE For a Second Review

André Rieu Appears on UK "Strictly Come Dancing"

►Click HERE to watch André on "Strictly Come Dancing"

Thanks to Mike W. for posting this for us right away ...

Mirusia's Interview This Week With English Subtitles

A post from Mirusia's Facebook today, Nov.12, 2011: Hi to all my friends who don't speak Dutch and would like to still watch the documentary I was featured in this week: Navigate to: ►http://www.andrerieu-movies.com/Mirusia_081111.html for a sub-titled version! Thanks to Ineke and Ruud and John for putting this up on their site ...... From Mirusia. x

André Rieu: I Would Prefer to Play in My Own Country

André Rieu in Arnhem For His Christmas Concert

"I would prefer to play in my own country"

November 3, 2011: André Rieu’s popularity continues to expand. After Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico, the United States and Canada, it is now Great Britain’s turn. Invariably his concerts attract sold out venues, which makes Rieu one of the best selling artist in the world. Currently one can find the Maastricht World star primarily abroad, but in December he and his Johann Strauss Orchestra will return to the Netherlands for a unique Christmas Concert in the Arnhem Gelredome. Our reporter interviewed the "King of the Waltz".

►The Christmas concert promises to be a spectacular and impressive evening. Could you just lift a corner of the veil for us already?

"Just like every year I bring a new program with lots of surprises. What the concert precisely entails, I will right now keep that to myself. I can tell you though that the Viennese dance school Elmayer, the Soweto Gospel Choir, the Harlem Gosper Choir and the "Trio St. Petersburg" will be performing. That in itself should be enough to look forward to".

"This I never dared to dream"

►You achieve significant global successes which cause you not to be in the Netherlands as often. What is it like to occasionally perform in your own country"

Throught the year we perform all over the world so we indeed have few opportunites to perorm in our own country. No matter how fantastic those concerts abroad are, nothing is more beautiful then to be able to perform on ones own soil. And then it does not matter if it is in Amsterdam, Arnhem or Maastricht.

►With your popular classical works by for instance Johann Strauss, you have been loved by a wide audience for the past 25 years. Now you are one of the best selling artists in the world:

That's right. Just incredible. I am extremely proud. "It is so very nice to see that the public appreciates you and that after all is who you do it for. 

►You are being appreciated by name to the fact that you are making classical music available to a wide audience. What do you think is your strength?
"I find it important to give the public the feeling that there is interaction, by for instance, looking them straight into the eyes. In addition, my orchestra and I have a lot of fun on stage and that radiates out. There is a definite interaction when the audience is entertained, and they in turn entertain us. And without a doubt the reverse is true also. In addition I find it important that people can show their emotions during a concert. Classical music is extremely beautiful and can bring a lot to the surface. That’s why there is dancing, laughter and tears during my concerts. Moreover, we pay a lot of attention to the appearance of the concert. Not only for the ears, but the eyes want something too. All that together makes the public feel good and enjoy themselves.

►You have millions of fans all over the world. One of them is the world renowned actor Anthony Hopkins who composed the waltz "And the Waltz goes on" with the request that you and your orchestra specifically perform this waltz. Last summer you played his composition for the first time in Austria. Why did you react to his request?
"I am an enormous Anthony Hopkins fan. When a celebrity like him - maybe one of the world’s greatest actors – asks me to execute a waltz, I do not have to think about that for one single minute. Ironically I immediately fell in love with it the first time I heard his piece."

►What does Hopkins’ appreciation do for you?
"I find it to be very special. And the nice thing is that the appreciation and respect are mutual. We clicked immediately when we first met. Hopkins is a very passionate man, besides being a fantastic actor and talented composer. In the meantime through our cooperation a wonderful friendship has evolved."

►You also landed on English soil this year. With your music DVD’s you reached first place, ahead of Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson. A new mile-stone?

"Of course. England for us is a new market. That we achieved a number one placing there is an enormous honor and gives us a fantastic feeling. Especially when you see how tough the competition is."

►The more popular you become the larger and more spectacular your shows. It seems that every concert surpasses the last one. Is there a limit?
"I do not think it can be any crazier or surpass the concert of 2008 in Vienna with the Schönbrunn Castle. That was a gigantic project. Maybe financially it was not the best decision we ever made, but commercially it was the best promotion worldwide we could have ever wished for. So we strive every time to come up with something new and original. And it does not need to be bigger or even more spectacular. But if you have been on stage successfully for more than thirty years, you cannot keep coming up with the same things all the time."

 ►Where does you inspiration come from every time?
"There is an enormous amount of beautiful music out there, so inspiration is not the problem. The trick is to come up with a fascinating and surprisingly varied program time and time again. That is something that my wife and I have been very busy with for many years. She, for me is the driving force behind the scenes.

"I was born with my violin and will die with it."

►You describe your relationship with the orchestra as kind of a marriage. Please explain.

We are one large family. Together we perform more than 120 concerts in a year, so we spend a lot of time together. There are times when I see my colleagues more than my own family. I am very proud of the bond we all maintain. That does not only pertain to the members of the orchestra, but to my technical people as well. Only with such a tight-knit group can you work closely together in harmony and respect."

►With your violin you also have a lifelong love affair. You have been playing this instrument since you were five years old, and in the meantime you have surpassed sixty. Do you have any plans to ever lay the violin down next to you?"
I do not think so. I rise with it and go to bed with it. You could say I was born with a violin in my arms, and undoubtedly will die with one too." 

►Ever thought that as a violinist you would be so successful?
"I have always been convinced that the manner in which I make music and attract people to my concerts would be successful. But that it would assume such proportions, I never dared to dream. That I, together with my Johann Strauss Orchestra, am allowed to experience that, that makes me the happiest man in the world.

Thanks to Ineke and Rini for sending this and John for Translating it.

Special Thanks to the artist who sent us his paintings of André and Limburg.

Why It Doesn't Matter What Critics Think About André Rieu

Why It Doesn't Matter What Critics Think About André Rieu


Billboard.biz: November 1, 2011: The man known as "the Waltz King" has sold more than 30 million CDs and DVDs globally, according to his record company. He had the seventh highest-grossing U.S. tour mid-year, netting $46,052,472 and filling 436,604 seats, according to Billboard Boxscore. Some would argue he's done more for orchestral music than the invention of the violin. And now Dutch conductor and violinist André Rieu releases his latest album, "And The Waltz Goes On" (Decca) on November 7 -- a disc featuring a specially written piece by Oscar-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins. 

Conducting his 43-strong Johan Strauss orchestra with his violin bow and rock-star demeanor, Rieu's energetic concerts (don't call them "shows" -- he gets cross) have wowed the world. And he's revived the much-mocked waltz form in the process.

He has had four Top 10 albums on the U.S Classical Crossover chart, charted 19 Top 10 albums on the Traditional Classical chart (including five number ones) and his total U.S. album sales equal 1.3 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He also had the highest-charting orchestral album ever in the U.K in 2010, with "Forever Vienna" (Decca). 

The waltz, says Rieu, is in his genes: "My father was a conductor and he would often play Strauss waltzes. I discovered that when he gave concerts the audience were quiet, almost scared to breathe. But when he played waltzes there was something in the air. They would smile and sometimes even hum." 

"The waltz is an attitude," he continues. "It's easy for classical orchestras to play Beethoven badly and get away with it. But when you play a waltz badly, it sounds rubbish." 

And as far as he's concerned, the form isn't paid the respect it deserves. "So often," he says, "it's seen as something to do in the last five minutes of a concert." But with a good waltz, he says, "there is melancholy and joy at the same time. It's a mirror of life. When you hear Shostakovich's second waltz it sounds like, 'give me another beer'." 

He appears to have an almost universal appeal. "My audience is everybody," Rieu claims, "I see the professor sitting next to the cleaning woman." 

"He makes presentation and performance a fun, enjoyable and totally memorable experience for his audience," explains Mark Wilkinson, Decca's managing director, "making for a very wide appeal amongst an older demographic." Marketing on TV has been key. "The theatricality and the spectacle makes TV the driving medium," Wilkinson says, "with advertising complementing timely performances that are targeted towards the older, more 'passive' music consumer." 

Rieu is sanguine about classical purists who call his music trivial: "Who cares? People come to my concerts and I do a good job. And what is pure classical music anyway?" 

Rieu is touring North America from Nov. 19 (Washington) until Nov. 30 (Connecticut). Each of his concerts is different from the one the day before, and - unlike many conductors -- he always faces the audience. "Things happen in the audience and I react to it," he explains. "I really want them to be with me." 

This laissez-faire attitude extends to his career path as well. So he can't predict what he'll be doing at this time next year. "I don't plan that far ahead," he laughs. "Sometimes I read about opera singers who have their life planned out for the next ten years. That's not me, I would suffocate. There's plenty of time anyway. I'm 62 now, and I am going to live until I am 120."