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►Click on Photo To See and Hear Nightingale Serenade

Jun 30, 2014

Rieu Concert to Go On Despite the Netherlands Soccer Match

Rieu Concert to Continue Despite the Netherlands Costa Rica Match

Maastricht Dichtbij-June 30: According to what André Rieu’s son, Pierre, told Maastricht Dichtbij, the concert on Saturday the 5th of July on the Vrijthof in Maastricht will still take place (as planned) despite "Orange" playing against Costa Rica in the Brazilian town of Salvador on the same night, and half of Maastricht (and the rest of the Netherlands) being caught up in the boisterous spirit of this match.

Pierre says that Saturday’s concert will be performed according to the usual format. “We will go according to the events of the moment. Should a goal be scored during the concert and the moment is fitting, I could well imagine that Hup Holland Hup will feature.”

According to Pierre, the soccer match will start at 10 PM and André's concert will commence exactly one hour earlier. “The concert will still be in progress after the match has been concluded. Hence, there will be sufficient opportunity during the encores to pay attention to the outcome of the match, especially in case of a victory, which is what we are all hoping for.”

Apart from that, the Rieu company has already sacrificed one concert in the series, namely the Sunday July 13th performance, the day of the final World Cup match. "That is the reason why we won’t perform on this date,” says the younger Rieu.

Thank you to Ineke and Entia for translation

Jun 29, 2014

'André Rieu Square' With Venetian Bridge Begins

Preparation of 'André Rieu Square' With Venetian Bridge Begins

Zien-Maastircht: A 14-meter-high scaffolding wall will be erected against the "Hoofdwacht" building. An Italian scene will provide a new backdrop during the Rieu concerts and a Venetian bridge will be constructed, linking the stage and the building. Will there still be space for the world famous Waffle Stall? We'll see next Friday.


Still a week to go and then André Rieu begins his series of annual hometown concerts on the Vrijthof. On Friday, July 4th, the world-famous violinist will start the concert series which will stretch over three weekends. The "Stehgeiger" (Standalone violinist), the Johann Strauss Orchestra, soloists and guests will perform eight concerts in total, the last of which will take place on Sunday July 20th. As far as we know, tenor Andrea Bocelli will be on the program as a guest of honor.

A Venetian bridge will appear between Rieu's stage and the "Hoofdwacht" building during the days to come. It will contribute to the creation of a more romantic, classical image on the Vrijthof during Rieu's concert series.

Today (Saturday) the construction of the annual André Rieu Square (we may call the Vrijthof this for the coming three weeks) commences. From the first moment of construction to the last second of the concerts, the square will draw many viewers daily. Today and tomorrow (Saturday/Sunday) the builders will have a hard task constructing the stage and all the other elements needed to provide a perfect setting; ensuring that all scaffolding work will be completed by Monday.

On Monday the actual decoration of the André Rieu spectacle will start. New elements this year will include the Venetian bridge, slanted between the stage and the Hoofdwacht. Fourteen(!) meter-high scaffolding will clad the former military building and sport Italian scenes to be admired by all. Passersby will be able to see how the new decor will fit into the overall picture.

Thank you to Ineke and Entia for the translation
Jeanette S. posted this on our FB Page. 
She took the photo at Wembley Arena Dec. '13. 
I loved the light coming down on him.

Jun 23, 2014

Posted Today: André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra performing 'Hup Holland Hup!' in his studio in Maastricht in support for the Dutch football team. At the end of the video André says in Dutch, "Good luck tonight boys" to the Dutch Team -  And in Spanish, "Adios amigos", to the Chile Team. (Holland won - 2-0!)

André Rieu Preparing for His Tenth Home Concert

André Rieu (64) Preparing for His Tenth Home Concert

Telegraaf, June 21, 2014: Does he ever consider quitting? At almost 65, and with more than enough funds stashed away for a rainy day, André Rieu doesn’t need a tenth of a second before answering: "Making music is what I love most and I will continue to do so until it becomes impossible". Soon he will – to his great joy – perform on his much beloved Vrijthof for the tenth time. Because despite Shanghai, Paris or South America... he prefers to perform in his familiar Maastricht.

I’ll carry on until I’m no longer able to.
As from the beginning of July, André Rieu will, on no less than eight occasions, be turning the most famous square in Limburg into a magnificent open-air concert hall. It will be a home game for the man who travels the world with his sixty-plus-strong orchestra not only to afford people enjoyment of waltz music such as that of Johann Strauss, but also to introduce people to this musical genre.

That André Rieu has now become one of the best-selling artists in the world, superseding artists like Britney Spears and Beyonce, is sometimes difficult to comprehend, even for him. His father, André Senior, was the conductor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and introduced him to the violin at age five.

JOY André: "I remember that huge orchestra with the beautiful sound and all the bows moving in the same direction simultaneously. I loved it. But even then I was surprised by the somber atmosphere during the concerts. Everyone looked serious and nobody dared to laugh or cough, while to me the music was exuding so much joy!"

PERFORMING ON A PACKED VRIJTHOF IS NEVER BORING
The violin and the introduction to music proved a masterstroke on the part of Rieu Sr., as it was soon clear that his son had a natural talent. Now, almost sixty years later, he and his expensive Stradivarius from 1667 are inseparable and André Jr. runs a multimillion dollar company!

When paging through the agenda of the popular performer, one comes across an impressive list of places where he’s entertained people with the popular classic genre. In the month of May alone, he gave concerts in Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. His visit to the Far East, where he performed for the first time in China, was impressive.

Jitters
It doesn't really matter where Rieu alights with his Orchestra. White or black, Catholic or Protestant, European or South American: they are all enraptured by the violinist. And how! Yet performing in his hometown of Maastricht gives the orchestra leader the jitters time and time again. "It's my city, hey, so that's an additional challenge. Maastricht is a lovely place and to me there is only one drawback to life here and that is the offensive odor caused by the incinerator of the ENCI factory (where cement is manufactured). What we are inhaling here on a daily basis is a mystery to everyone, but it definitely cannot be healthy. However, for the rest… I love this city and would not wish to live anywhere else".

Rieu lives happily in beautiful surroundings with his wife Marjorie in the famous castle, ‘Huis De Torentjes (House of Turrets)’. An additional advantage is that his grandchildren, Ivan, Fleur, Linde and Lieke, live round the corner. "And that," he says "is just fine. I’m often abroad, and, the moment I set foot again on Maastrichts’ soil, I cannot wait to see them again."

His rock in life is Marjorie, to whom André has been married since 1975. She prefers to remain out of the limelight and told PRIVE that she’s happy not to go through life as ‘Mrs. Rieu’. "I prefer to remain something of a mystery."

However, despite this, the Limburger does not miss any opportunity to praise his wife. "Marjorie made it possible for me to become the king of the waltz", says André. She freed me from Beethoven. I love it that she’s either in the office or with me in the studio. Her business acumen, coupled with lightheartedness and flexibility, provide a compass for me in the sometimes turbulent realm of business. She prevents me from erring, articulates ideas, shares my thoughts and was my pillar of support when I was struck for weeks by an inflamed vestibular nerve (equilibrium organ). We have already weathered many storms together."

Furthermore, although it is already the tenth time that Rieu will be performing on what the Limburgers refer to as the "Vriethof", he still hasn’t gotten used to it. And André Rieu would not be André Rieu if he wasn’t, once again, pulling a rabbit out of his hat this year. Last year he shared the stage with André Van Duin and Jermaine Jackson, and this year the honor will go to the Italian musician and composer, Rocco Granata.

Atmosphere
"This year the theme is Italy," explains Rieu. "Not surprising, because it is my favorite holiday destination. We try to visit Rome once a year for a couple of days with the family. The atmosphere there is wonderful and unique: the musicians on the streets, the ice cream on every corner, the countless coffee shops. Recently our grandchildren have also started to accompany us and that makes it even more fun."

Thanks to Ineke for the article and Entia (who is filling in for John while he is in Maastricht) for the translation 

Jun 15, 2014

Journey From New Fan to First Live Concert

Journey From New Fan to First Live Concert

Hello! My name is Ulrica and I live in the southernmost part of Sweden. I'm going to tell you the story of how I discovered André Rieu and finally got to see a Live Concert in Sweden.

In April or May of last year I went to YouTube to search for a song, I can't remember which one - but I think it was Funiculi Funicula. The first suggestion that came up was André Rieu, from his own channel. I started to listen and I fell in love with this kind of classical music. On the side there was more music of André Rieu so I continued to listen. It was fantastic to see how he connected with the audience. One time I found a concert from Australia and at the end when he was playing Waltzing Matilda and had tears in his eyes. I wondered why ...

At that time I had also found his own website, facebook page & twitter account. On his website I saw that he will perform in Copenhagen, Denmark in May 2014, so I clicked on the little sign "tickets", only to find they were sold out.  I thought "all ready? It's one year left before the concert! ..." At that time I hadn't found out popular he was. So I thought "oh well, I have YouTube and I can order some dvds".


During my trips to YouTube I found a video clip from his tour in South Africa. In the end of that he was speaking in Dutch with his son Pierre about all the emotions, he cried a lot during that concert (I found out that later). Among the comments there was someone who wrote "go to Google and type in André Rieu Movie" - when I did that I ended up on a website called André Rieu Movies. I have to admit I was in heaven :D

There was a lot of info. about André. Roadsoaps, video clips and so on. All with English subtitles. :) Now I found out why he was crying when he played Waltzing Matilda and what he and Pierre were talking about. Also why he cried when Kimmy Skota sang Tula Tula and My African dream ....... At the end of that page there was a little symbol for Facebook, a little white F. So I clicked on it and found a Facebook group named André Rieu fan site 'The Harmony Parlour' and also the website with the same name. The rest is history. I have made so many friends in different countries and different ages. I can also read a lot about the king of waltzes. :)

How I finally got to see a Live Concert with André Rieu

Even though I had some DVDS & YouTube, I was dreaming about a live concert with André Rieu. One day at work I was reading a newspaper and suddenly I saw a full page ad that said "Andre Rieu will perform in Malmö 18 of May, 2014, ticket release 15 of June 9 am". I was so happy. The day the tickets went for sale I sat by the computer 15 minutes before 9 am. The bank account was ready, I had logged in to the ticket store. I was so ready ( and a bit nervous. ;) At 9:05 am I had my ticket saved to the computer.

In November 2013 I did the first countdown, 6 month and counting. I did that every month until the end of April when I started counting days instead. At the day of the concert, I didn't do much more than some cleaning, relaxing and eating. I went to the venue by car (it only takes 20 minutes from where I live) and went inside. The first thing I saw was the stage, it looked amazing. Then I saw something really good, "André Rieu will come back in May 2015" and I thought, "YES!!!"

Then it was a 30 minutes to wait - I prepared my camera - And boom, the lights went out and the counting started. I turned around and there he was :D . I took a quick picture, not knowing how it looked. The 76 trombones was playing and they all started to walk towards the stage, waving with their hands. The concert continued with all kinds of songs, all performed by André Rieu, the Johann Strauss Orchestra, the Platin Tenors & three new female soloist.


A 20 minute break and they were on stage again. André started to make fun of people who were late, as he always does ... The last piece he always plays is The Radetzky March and when they release the balloon's from the roof it means its time for the encores and people are heading for the stage. He ended the encores with Adieu, little captain of my heart and left the stage while playing Thank you for the music, from his ABBA cd ....... He played two Swedish songs at the concert. A little bit of Thank you for the music and a little bit of the theme song Pippi Longstocking, while the audience sang along with both of them.

It has now been a few weeks since the concert and I have all my memories and my photos to look back too. I'm also waiting for the ticket release to the concert in May 2015 ... And hoping that one day, I will go to Maastricht to see him perform in his hometown and meet other André Rieu fans.

Bela posted my photo I took of him on his Facebook Page with this note ....... FROM BELA'S FACEBOOK PAGE! "Someone showed me this picture that Ulrica Jönsson, a fan, took during the concert in Sweden this year. I like it so much, I thought I'd share it with you all. Thank you Ulrica, for this beautiful photo, and cheers to you!"
(All Photos are by Ulrica)

Jun 11, 2014

André Rieu Snags Andrea Bocelli For Maastricht

André Rieu Snags Andrea Bocelli For The Vrijthof Shows

June 11, 2014: André Rieu has snagged Italian world star Andrea Bocelli (55) for his tenth edition of his upcoming concerts on the Vrijthof. Negotiations with the equally famous Zucchero (Il Volo) are still ongoing. This is what the Maastricht violinist and conductor revealed last night on RTL Boulevard.

The Italian-Belgian Rocco Granata (of Marina, Buona Note Bambino fame) will also be present in Maastricht. The Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, who became blind after an accident, is especially known for Italian songs such as "Time to say Good-Bye, (Con te Partiro), Vivo per Lei and Because We Believe, met with Marco Borsato. The theme of the anniversary series of the annual concerts will be Italian, hence the choice of artists. The theme also suits the new CD Rieu is now recording, consisting of Italian songs. It is still unclear which artists will appear and when. The concerts take place on July 11, 12, 18 19 and 20.

Thanks to Ineke for article and John for the ©Translation

André Rieu Statue Temporarily in Townhouse

André Rieu Statue Temporarily in Townhouse

The bronze statue of André Rieu, created by Russian artist Alexander Taratynov, is temporarily housed at the Townhouse Hotel on the Sint Maartenslaan in Maastricht. That is what the new owner Leon Maes of Maes properties revealed. Maes, who along with his brother Michael govern a real estate company, bought the statue from Taratynov, who, acting on his own initiative, created the statue in 2009. Ever since then it has been stored in the artist’s studio. "We think a lot of fans will want a picture of the statue, especially around Rieu’s Vrijthof concerts. "Then the Townhouse Hotel is a nice place for it," says Leon Maes.

The bronze, full size statue will remain in the hotel for three months. Afterwards it will be moved to a new location, of which Maes will not divulge its location. "But it will again be placed in a special place."
©Translation by John and thank you to Ineke for article

Andrea Bocelli to Perform With André Rieu Maastricht

ANDREA BOCELLI TO PERFORM WITH ANDRÉ RIEU

RTL Boulevard - June 10, 2014: Last year André Rieu saw just about every continent on his world tour. The violinist has just returned to the Netherlands, and is preparing for a new series of concerts on the Vrijthof in Maastricht next month. And with a very special guest!

World Star or not, every year the world star holds July free from his agenda. He then plays "the roof off" the Vrijthof every evening in his beloved city of Maastricht. In October, the maestro reaches his retirement age, but is not thinking about hanging up his bow any time soon. "I'm not going to celebrate big, like, I'm going to sit behind the geraniums," according to what André Rieu told RTL Boulevard.

The violin virtuoso is looking forward to the concerts in "his" Maastricht. And this year the concerts will have an Italian flair. "Yes, with Andrea Bocelli and maybe Zucchero so ..........?"  
Our Thanks to John for the ©Translation

Jun 4, 2014

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Pierre and André September 30, 2016 Maastricht

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Photo Taken at Mexico City Concert ~ September 2013

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"Hello to all my fans on The Harmony Parlor!"


Soundcheck in Maastricht 2013 (RTL Photo)



Maastricht 2012 ~ "André on The Theater Steps" by Bee

Maastricht 2012 ~ "André and Pierre on The Theater Steps" by Bee

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