Rieu News is slow right now, but once in awhile a new photo pops up! :)
Aug 31, 2013
Aug 24, 2013
Aug 11, 2013
A VIP Visit To André Rieu's Castle in Maastricht
My VIP visit to Andre's castle, but where do I
start? ... It was a beautiful afternoon, hot sunshine and azure blue skies when
we left the reception of the Kruisheren Hotel and climbed into two coaches to
visit 'De Torentjes' the beautiful PR home of André Rieu! After a short trip
through leafy lanes, we arrived with a buzz of great excitement and walked the
steep incline to those magical wrought iron gates normally tightly closed to the
public!
We were ushered in and Pierre jumped onto a
bench and gave us a warm welcome and a short introduction about the castle. He
asked us if we had any questions, before leaving us to browse leisurely and soak
up the atmosphere whilst moving from room to room; which had much ancient
history along with momentous from previous world tours, which really gave you a
glimpse in life in the fast lane:
► The costumes and shoes were delightful and
brought the music flooding back with memories of times they were worn and the
songs each lady was singing!
► The Dining Room was stunning and you could
picture the Christmas Advent Calendar immediately as you recognized objects: the
huge table and chairs, and grand fireplace welcoming the guests.
► The Bull was amusing. I think he must have
been the one from the show where the bull chased a lady in red!
All around throughout there are beautiful
paintings created by his son Marc. Two expressive portraits of André and
Marjorie command prime place in a beautiful mirrored room with gilded frames and
decoration.
In the cosy lounge I sank into one of the soft
leather chairs, almost fearing I wouldn't be able to rise from it again; these
Dutch people have such long legs!
In a glass cabinet there are numerous
trophies and awards that have been awarded to André and his JSO over the years.
They made a formidable show and are displayed with intense pride and
humility.
On our visit through the kitchen we were offered
a variety of tasty canapes including salmon, cream cheese and others, with a
choice of drinks to refresh us, as it was a very hot afternoon.These we enjoyed in the garden sitting on the steps and
watching the world go by!
Along the back terrace that leads up to St
Peter's Church (in the Christmas at Home DVD), André is still having extensive
work done; it is grading down into terraces at the moment, but no doubt his
master plan will have something exciting and exquisite to reveal to us in the
future.
The outside of the castle has had extensive
repair work to the roof and walls, as the stone gradually is eroding. It is a
never ending maintenance job!
The Orangery is beautiful with lovely colored
glass panels which throw pretty colors in the sunlight. In front there is a
channeled pond in which there are some huge (I believe) Koi carps of colorful
orange hue swimming lazily in the clear cool water. A three tier waterfall feature adds a lovely trickling sound to the
peaceful courtyard. You can imagine André relaxing here away from the hustle and
bustle of touring. His own paradise, away from the demands and strains of being
famous and everyone wanting a little piece of him.
All too soon our time was over and we made our
way back to the coaches and hotel; quiet and thoughtful after our wonderful
experience. Later we had our meal and we were entertained by
the Maastricht Salon Orchestra. Each table was serenaded by the violinist: a
touching experience.
Eventually we were back on the Vrijthof awaiting
the start of the concert. I was seated in the front row so had an excellent
place.The concert was fantastic. I actually was there for all six concerts in
July and found them all fantastic. I can't wait for next year to come
again!
We returned to the Kruisheren Hotel and had a
lovely gift from André of a Paperweight (limited edition and numbered) within an
etching of his head and shoulders visible whichever way round you looked at it.
Really lovely! And a note on the door handle
wishing a Good Nights sleep and hoping we had enjoyed the day! Very very
touching thought! As usual André pays attention to the smallest
details!
All in all a once in a life time experience, the
only thing that could have made it better was if we could have met and shaken
André's hand, or had a photo taken with him or autograph from him ............
Maybe one day! Jill Baggaley
(UK)
|
Aug 9, 2013
Unknown Person Passing as André Rieu's Son
Two Articles Today in de Limburger of Rieu Going
To North Pole
Deception: An unknown person has been passing
him/herself as the son of the orchestra leader André Rieu for the last two years.
Second Article in de Limburger Today by Casper
Cillekens
"André Rieu would still like to go to the North Pole"
A web site would be erected where interested people come Monday could register for André Rieu’s North Pole concert to take place next year. The price for a ticket: 35 thousand. It all seemed fake.
Quite cunning. That is what Johan Groeneveld, deputy editor of the ANP, said about the manner in which an unknown person mislead the news office about the concert which the Maastricht orchestra leader André Rieu would perform next year August 18th on the North Pole. The e-mail which we received had a return address of communications@andrerieu.com. The telephone number displayed on the e-mail also reflected to be from Rieu Productions. When the on-call editor started checking the facts, she was called by a person stating he was Pierre Rieu. He sounded convincing, knew a lot of details and spoke with a Limburg accent. He called back one more time. To ask whether we had all the information. It was a plausible story. It sounded believable." The ANP placed the information about the North Pole concert on the net around one on Thursday morning. That also automatically landed on the web sites of many news media, including this news agency. Yesterday morning when our news media had called Pierre Rieu, son and spokes person of the orchestra leader, it appeared to be a joke. "We stepped into that one" sighed Groeneveld. "The ANP receives information several times a week which does not seem to be valid. Our standard is that we check everything. Sometimes we leave information received during the evening until the next morning. Again, in this case it was very believable. I myself would have placed this information."
The information about the concert did not completely drop out of the sky. André Rieu had back in 2009 indicated that a North Pole concert would be performed, in order to bring awareness to the melting of the ice cap. It was, says Pierre as an addition, the intention to use ice-breakers in order to go to the North Pole. But since in 2009 there were only two dilapidated Russian ice breakers available, André Rieu placed that idea in the "ice box" (Back burner) "The damaged which would have been created by these ships, would possibly be greater than the attention you were trying to generate." "Very annoying that something like this has happened," sighs Pierre." But who knows: maybe this fake news might regenerate the idea. Maybe a wealthy sponsor might want to stick some money into it. We have not given up on the idea. A plus of course is that organizations like WWF and Greenpeace agree with us. If it happens to become reality, we will take one couple from each country of the world directly to the center of the North Pole."
Thank You to John for finding these tonight and translating
them.
Aug 8, 2013
André: It is much too cold on the North Pole!
André: It is much too cold on the North
Pole
RTL Aug. 8th: Violinist and conductor André Rieu always likes for his concerts to become better and go farther. This morning the Dutch media reported en masse that this time he would be going to the North Pole. Anyway you probably know the joke that André Rieu did go to the North Pole.
Well, he did not. The news that Rieu would go to the North Pole was sent out to the world by some prankster.
"This morning I heard about it from my son Pierre We had toyed with this idea it but it has not been discussed for many years," André told RTL Boulevard.
This plan has long been tabled since the Arctic is much too cold according to André.
Whoever told the world this story is unknown to the violinist and he is not happy about it. "It's annoying, to say the least. I am on holiday now and having to explain this to everyone was not in my plans."
Thank You to John for the quick translation on this!
Aug 7, 2013
FUN Harmony Parlor Birthday Cards from Alice!
Today is the Harmony Parlor's Birthday and Alice has made a little present for all the fans ... Thank You Alice!!!
Aug 5, 2013
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