André Rieu News From Europe ♦ USA ♦ Australia ♦ SA ♦ UK ♦ The World


Number One André Rieu Site For English Speaking Fans Around The World!
With The Latest News - Photos - English Translations and More!

WELCOME AND ENJOY ! FROM YOUR WEB HOSTS ~ JOHN AND SUZANNE

.

.
►Click on Photo To See and Hear Nightingale Serenade

Nov 20, 2014

A Role For André Rieu in "Code M"

A Role For André in "Code M"
 
The Limburger - Sittard: André Rieu will be playing a role in the family film "Code M". The violinist will appear in this film as himself, just as he did previously in "Flikken Maastricht." Additional actors are Peter Paul Muller, Derek de Lindt, Nina Wyss, Senna Norsato and Joes Brauers.

The recordings of this film by producer Dennis Bots are in full swing.

In code "M" the historical story of D'Artagnan, musketeer on the court of Louis XIV, fuses with a contemporary exploration of a "still unknown piece of Dutch history."

Course materials will also be available with the film, and there will be a two-year exhibition at Castle Hoensbroek about the history of d'Artagnan, who after many missions in Europe was killed in Maastricht. Ineke Mahieu is editing the screenplay into a juvenile novel.
The film is co-produced by Roermond citizen Elbe Stevens. "Code M" will premiere next year in June.

Thanks To John For The Translation

Nov 17, 2014

André Rieu Fan Al Girard Enjoying Retirement

Al Girard Enjoying Retirement

What a great time to thank a fan who has done so much for all of us on the Harmony Parlor bringing us photos of so many concerts and everything in Maastricht ...

Al Girard as most of you know as our Harmony Parlor Photographer in Maastricht, was interviewed by Edmonton, Canada Television! All the Maastricht Fan Picnic and Fan Dinner photos he has taken for us, not to mention the many Maastricht Concert photos! Great interview Al and thank you for all your work for the Harmony Parlor! Click HERE To Watch Al's Interview!


Nov 16, 2014

Classical phenomenon André Rieu lands at #2 on Billboard

Classical phenomenon André Rieu lands at #2 on Billboard’s Traditional Classical chart with Love in Venice, marking the 20th time that Rieu has earned a Top 10 album on that chart.  The album also debuted at #5 on Billboard’s overall Classical chart.

US BILLBOARD: Released on November 3, 2014, Love in Venice features Italian classics such as “O Sole Mio,” “Volare,” “That’s Amore” and “Santa Lucia”; the famous “Barcarole” by Jacques Offenbach; the “Lagoon Waltz” by Johann Strauss; and the Toselli Serenade, all performed in Rieu’s unique and unforgettable way.  The album also includes three of Rieu’s own compositions – the title track, “Bella Tarantella,” and “La Gondola,” marking the first time the maestro has recorded and included his own compositions on an album release.

**Additionally, beginning Thanksgiving weekend, U.S. television stations will rebroadcast Rieu’s 2013 Christmas special, Home for the Holidays, featuring Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra, together with soloists and a choir, performing 26 holiday classics. Filmed in his hometown of Maastricht, Holland, this special was first broadcast in the U.S. last year to great fan acclaim.

Initial markets to schedule 2014 broadcasts include Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Chattanooga, TN; Chicago, IL; Cleveland-Akron, OH; Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; Hartford & New Haven, CT; Las Vegas, NV; Little Rock, AR; Milwaukee, WI; Monterey-Salinas, CA; Montgomery-Selma, AL; New York, NY; Norfolk & Richmond, VA; Orlando, FL; San Antonio, TX; San Francisco, CA; and Tampa, FL, among others, with more being added daily. Check local listings for complete broadcast information.

A native of the Netherlands, André Rieu is the world’s best-selling classical musician and has brought about an international revival in classical music with his spellbinding musical extravaganzas.  André owns the biggest private orchestra in the world and has sold more than 40 million albums and DVDs.  This year marks the 20th anniversary of his breakthrough album Strauss & Co, which launched his stratospheric rise in 1994. Since then, he has received more than 400 Platinum and 171 Gold Awards, and he has more than 1.4 million Facebook fans.

In the UK, no other violinist has made such an impact on the charts. André first made chart history in 2010 when his album, Forever Vienna, reached No.2 in the UK Pop Charts as well as going straight in at No.1 in the Classical Charts.  Love in Venice has today made a monumental return to the UK Pop Album Chart as his new orchestral album enters at No. 4, competing with youngsters Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris and only just behind Taylor Swift – an extraordinary result for an album of music mostly written in the 1800s. The album is also No. 1 in the Classical Chart.

Every year, André, his Johann Strauss Orchestra, chorus and international soloists travel across the world, performing about 100 concerts in front of an audience of one million people. His tours have been on Billboard’s Top 10 for the past ten years.

André and his Johann Strauss Orchestra embark return to the UK next month for an extensive arena tour, including two nights at Wembley.  His previous UK tour, November-December 2013, helped Rieu rise to the top of Billboard’s Hot Winter Tours chart, beating out contemporary artists such as One Direction, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Phish for the #1 spot during the same time period.

Nov 11, 2014

Just For Fun ... Full Picture

Romantic André Rieu derives his power from women

Unveiling in the largest newspaper in France:
Romantic André Rieu derives his power from women


MAASTRICHT - First a revelation: André Rieu derives his boundless energy from all the wonderful women who are opposite him during his appearances on the big stage. That is what he revealed today in an exclusive video interview with Le Parisien, the largest newspaper in France.

And no, his wife Marjorie is absolutely not jealous of all those ladies who worship the stand-alone violinist: the great Maastricht violinist had not been to bed with all his female fans, he says while smiling shyly as he grabs his cup of coffee: "That would be a lot of work."

Le Parisien recently was the guest at "House de Torentjes" (House of little Towers), which dates back to 1452, and is the castle of André Rieu, located on the Lage Kanaaldijk in Maastricht. Quite a chore, the newspaper lets its readers know. For more than a year the reporter has been trying to organize an interview of an hour, but the agenda of the Maastricht superstar -the most famous and popular living violinist- has been totally booked full, according to Le Parisien, and this was something simply not very easy to achieve.

Le Parisien did not only receive an interview, but also was given a tour of the castle (called de Torentjes, the small towers), its garden (including the pond with Koi carp), the Orangery and the studio.

André Rieu is a romantic, he says in French. "Everything I do is romantic. A romantic is someone who thinks he can change the world. He thinks he can change everything, anything that is possible.
Thanks to John for the Translation

André Rieu: "The 'Musikantenstadl' is a ritual"

André Rieu: "The 'Musikantenstadl' is a ritual"

In Germany, Dutch "Waltz King" André Rieu has become well known through the "Musikantenstadl" program. In an interview with t-online.de, the musician voiced his concern about the uncertain future of the show, whose existence for 2015 is very unclear. "I think it's a pity. The "Musikantenstadl" is a ritual, it’s totally indifferent whether a viewer is 35 or 70 is. Maybe all viewers, 50 years or older, should adjust their dues. "(Payments for viewing TV, which is common in many European countries)

All together the 65-year-old believes that music on German television is "too short". "Everyone is complaining that music education is neglected in the schools, but none of the broadcasters are taking the time nor are they considering how to make music accessible to all," says Rieu. In the Netherlands, his home country, music plays a very different role. André Rieu’s specials are broadcast there every year and reached by an audience of millions. "That's wonderful," says the musician.

André Rieu also appreciates other artists very much. This is what he says about the beautiful pop star, Helene Fischer: "She's a great artist, one of the very few who can really do it all, sing, dance, moderate - and he finds her of course very pretty and young.." About a famous violinist colleague Rieu says: "David Garrett is a great musician who does his own thing, he does what is fun for him. It is not easy to continue with your own concepts, especially since they are different."
Fitness program for the "Internet Junkie"

Currently André Rieu is back on tour and has a busy schedule. But the 65-year-old has a program with which he keeps fit. "Three times a week I do proper weight training and also have a personal trainer when on tour. Also, I try to eat very healthy and sleep one hour before each concert," says Rieu to t-online.de.

In addition to his classical music Rieu also has a very modern passion: "I am an internet junkie," he says. "I love apps, Smart phones and social media."

André Rieu starts his Germany tour on January 9, 2015 in Frankfurt am Main. But prior to that he would like to enjoy this year's Christmas properly when he returns from his concert tour in England on 23 December. "I celebrate at home surrounded by my family, with my sons and four grandchildren. That time is sacred to me! I'm really looking forward to that. For the first time we actually and really have two weeks completely free," says Rieu.
Thanks to John for the Translation

Nov 8, 2014

Another Story From Our Earliest Fans ...

Elke and Nino Freitag 
From Münster, Germany
  
Elke: Actually, I grew up with waltz music because my parents liked to listen to music, especially waltz music. And as they listened they sometimes danced. As a teenager I listened to German pop music and also later on English songs - especially Elvis Presley. I actually always have been involved with music – did reviews for a disc jockey‘s (yes, that was called back then) single records and wrote the weekly charts for our Münster's daily newspaper.

I did hear André’s music from time to time, until I happened to see André and his orchestra on a TV show. I liked that so much that I wanted to experience him live. In December 2002 he gave a concert here in Münster. Unfortunately, I had missed that performance. But I was lucky – on December 9th, André gave an additional concert, and I bought our first concert tickets. From our seats on the side I could see how harmoniously and friendly the interplay between André and his musicians was. The dresses of the ladies in the orchestra were beautiful, all the musicians had good-humored faces and played with full enthusiasm. André stood elegantly and proudly with his violin in front of his orchestra and conducted them with his body, his eyes and his gestures – I enjoyed it so much that I immediately knew that this indeed was our first concert with André Rieu and the JSO - but certainly not our last.

From then on, André Rieu itinerary’s interested me very much, and when there were concerts in the area of about 200 km, I bought tickets
.
We attended our first Open Air concert in July 2004 in the football stadium in Kerkrade, the Netherlands, and we enjoyed the great atmosphere there. The first time we experienced 12,000+ people. I was quite excited during the entire concert. Especially when after the concert we met Andre, the JSO, Otto Waalkes and John Sheahan of the Dubliners backstage. That is where my first photo together with André was taken – luckily my shaky knees cannot be seen in this photo.

Our desire was to experience André once in the United States – where he had organized a concert tour there. So it came to pass that we saw and listened to him in Las Vegas, San Diego and Ontario/Los Angeles. One of our experiences was our meeting – also called a Meet & Greet - with André and the orchestra before and after the concert in Ontario, CA. After a brief conversation with André a group photo was taken and we were given an autographed farewell gift.

The concerts in the USA were – just like the ones in Germany - perfect, and the audiences were full of enthusiasm. We especially like to remember the Open Air Summer Specials in Heidelberg and Mainau. Exceeding the atmosphere of the island were the two concerts in Vienna in front of the Schönbrunn Palace - an unforgettable atmosphere and, of course, entirely appropriate for André's waltz music. André and his team had spared no effort in presenting the audience with evenings so romantic and as dreamy as possible. And then – there was the concert at the Semper Opera in Dresden. This superb, wonderful setting – was a dream.

I would like to tell you about a very nice experience: A friend, also a Rieu fan, was married in April 2004 and wanted to attend an André concert in Leipzig on their wedding night . She had tickets for the first row and told me that she would wear her wedding dress to the concert. During a concert - a long time ago – I had given André a short note, explaining the situation, and asked him if it were possible to convey to the couple in the front row best wishes. I never thought that my letter about my request would be read. But guess what – when the concert was over, my friend called me excitedly and said: "Imagine André giving us a wedding cake from the stage!!". Now I was surprised. A great gesture by André - and for me the confirmation that my little letter was read. They were happy, just like me, that a photo of this unique moment was taken.

The open air concerts which André performs every year in July in Maastricht - are a must for every fan, and we have been there every year - always on all three days of each weekend. There you meet friends from all over the world, have much to talk about and enjoy the fan dinner on a boat on the Maas, which every year is perfectly organized by Ineke and Ruud, which together is enjoyed with an evening concert on the magnificent Vrijthof, which André and his staff turn every year again into a romantic setting.

For 12 years now we have been fans of André and his music and in that time have attended more than 120 concerts, of which we have not wanted to miss a single one. We are still very sad that in September 2003, due to scheduling problem, we were not able to attend the concert in Cortona, Italy. It must have been great. We know Cortona well, and can imagine that this romantic little place in Tuscany was perfect for a summer concert under the starry night sky.

It is a pity that André no longer performs the traditional New Year's concerts in Cologne. For us it was always a wonderful start in the New Year. We hope to visit many more beautiful André concerts, along with friends.


In our subsequent visit to Cortona, I noticed a beautiful drawing of the Piazza della Republica in a small art dealer shop on the Piazza, where André had given his concerts. I bought this drawing, had it framed and then presented it to André on November 27, 2003 in our hometown of Münster. For him it should be a reminder of the concerts in Cortona. Look at this beautiful picture - and did it make André happy?

Elke's story was translated by John from German

Nov 2, 2014

ANDRÉ RIEU THE WALTZ DEFEATS THE TANGO

THE WALTZ DEFEATS THE TANGO

'The Waltz defeats the Tango' - The Telegraaf - October 25th 2014 by Wilma Nanninga. The "Circus" of André Rieu turns Brazil upside down with a spectacular classical music show in São Paulo. Hundreds of Brazilians waltz in the aisles of the gigantic Estádio de São Paulo while André Rieu jokes and conducts as though he is performing on the Vrijthof – with a cheering, laughing and clapping audience. The rise of the Maastricht maestro throughout the world is unstoppable. After a spectacular start in Mexico, he now has the whole of South America at his feet.

A crew of 50 people, consisting of technicians, stage- and décor builders; 60 members of the orchestra and choir as well as 4 sets of decor, instruments and costumes travel across the world.


André sits in the Lotus position in the window sill of the Hilton Hotel's presidential suite in São Paulo, where he landed with his entire crew consisting of 110 people. "Everyone deserves a good bed, Wi-Fi to connect with home via social media, good food and medical care. We have breakfast and lunch in the hotel, have our own chefs prepare the dinner in the stadium and have a doctor travelling with us. We travel 160 days of the year. Then you have to make sure of your comfort. That is our way of life."

Rieu turned 65 on the airplane en route to São Paulo. "This age does not mean anything to me. I have a free profession; I will continue until I die. In any case, nowadays 65 is what 55 used to be. My personal trainer, Ruud, travels with us and I work out every other day. He and the doctor keep a close watch on my health. No, fortunately I got rid of the virus which kept me from working for several months. Everything is okay now. But I don't do silly things any more. This lifestyle is similar to that of top sportsmen."


In his suite there is a treadmill, weights and mats on the floor in front of the gigantic windows which overlooks the famous hanging bridge of São Paulo. André Rieu speaks openly about his life on tour: "During such a tour I hardly leave my hotel room, except to perform. I sleep, have breakfast, work out, eat, sleep again, go to a performance, the sound check, eat, sleep again, the big performance, receive guests, sleep..... and that has now been the routine for the past 9 days."




When André leaves his hotel in the afternoon to go to the concert venue, the Estádio (stadium) in the Iberpuero quarter, we witness the extent of the Limburg Waltz King’s popularity in South America. Everywhere there are fans who would like to have a photo taken with him. About ten impressively armed motorcycle police officers, who escort him through the traffic, assist in organizing the photo shoots. Later on they stop the traffic and smoothly guide the buses through the enormous traffic jams which are a daily occurrence in a city with 22 million inhabitants.

Limburger Frans Neus and his team are responsible for the organization of the tours. He maintains contacts with authorities and local promoters. "São Paulo is a crazy city. Skyscrapers as far as you can see and in between ... slums. It is not safe to walk the streets by yourself. We are grateful for the support of the police. A 32 minute drive to the airport could easily take 5 hours without their help." Outside the arena Frans points to about 15 helicopters, circling like dragonflies above this part of the city. "They transport businessmen who hop from heli platform to heli platform on the roofs of the skyscrapers. It saves time and is safer. São Paulo is the financial and economic heart of Brazil."

At the stadium the corridors are filled with André Rieu travel containers – proof that the Maastricht maestro has really taken over the stadium. In the venue you may also notice the difference between poor and rich. Downstairs, on the field, are hundreds of stylishly padded seats for the upper economic classes. In other parts of the arena are plastic seats for the Brazilians who, for most of the time, had to save money for months in order to be able to buy a concert ticket.


Frans tells us that the stadium has improved a lot. "They would like for us to return in December 2015. That will be in their summer. We mentioned air-conditioning as a prerequisite for that. Currently it is spring and we already have to perform in 35 degrees Celsius. They agreed immediately. But we will have to reconsider that carefully, since we usually perform in the UK in December."


In 2013, the first year that André Rieu performed in Brazil, 180,000 tickets were sold. A short tour was added this year, with 60,000 tickets being sold. When the show begins at 9 PM, Rieu fever breaks out. Cheering Brazilians chant his name when André and his orchestra, dressed in baroque costumes, enter from the catacombs. A Brazilian lady is wiping away a tear: "Tonight my dream comes true. Are you from Holland? André Rieu is as fabulous as Johan Cruijff."

André smoothly performs his program on stage. He invites the audience to waltz to the Blue Danube. The Brazilians don't hesitate for a moment. Within five seconds the aisles are filled with dancing couples. The cameraman notices a lovely older couple dancing somewhere far above. The images are shown on the big screens and the audience goes wild. The Samba is forgotten; the Waltz reigns.


The next morning, in his suite, André refers to the discovery of South America as incidental. "We often performed in North America and once in El Paso (Texas) near the Mexican border. To venture across the border seemed logical. To our astonishment we were hugely successful over there. Now we perform everywhere in South America: Buenos Aires in Argentina, Santiago de Chile, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo in Brazil. In the meantime we have the entire world on our program: New Zealand, Australia, Japan." He says laughingly that "The Japanese people are not good at waltzing. They hop up and down in similar fashion to the "Teletubbies." The Chinese people can waltz. We have just been to Taiwan by invitation and then we also performed in China. That is not yet profitable for us, but I would like to conquer this part of the world as well; maybe next year."


He murmurs to himself and for the first time I notice how dead silent his hotel suite is; no softly playing violin ensemble, nor any other background music. Is that incidental? "You are right", he says pondering. "Outside of my job I never listen to music, because I do not find it relaxing. Music touches me too much. I always give an opinion or would like to re-arrange. Listening in a relaxed way is not possible for me. That is probably the only disadvantage of my profession."



FRANK STEIJNS: the bell player of São Paulo
Frank Steijns is one of the violinists of the Johann Strauss Orchestra. Frank is also a carillonist and is very fond of carillons: "It is our national instrument." Frank discovered a basilica with a neglected carillon in Sao Paulo, which was put there a long time ago by two Dutch monks. "It had seized up completely and was played for the last time in 1962. I supported the renovation and the Brazilians did not know what they were hearing when I touched the bells for the first time. We have now devised a plan to educate a Brazilian musician to play the bells; and that is how André and the Johann Strauss Orchestra bring back music to the churches."


MARC RIEU: painter in the wake of his father
André Rieu has two sons. Pierre is in the company and is partly responsible for his father's triumphs. André says: "I dream and he makes it possible." Marc is a painter and he joined the group with his paintings in shipping containers. During the first tour to Brazil, he sold all 17 of his paintings. This year he sold 13. Just like the real Dutch Masters, he specializes in cloudy skies.


Translation by Ineke and Entia

André Rieu Watlzing All Over The World

Waltzing All Over The World
Composer André Rieu regularly travels the globe, but insists that there's no place like his home town of Maastricht. He 
reveals his favorite parts of his native city. 
Though he travels for work, he prefers to be at home when he has time off.

The Early Fans of André Rieu

Bill and Margaret Oliver Who Live in The UK

How I became a Rieunatic - My name is Bill Oliver and my wife Margaret and I have been married for 39 years to date. I was born listening to Hank Williams as my father used to get the MGM singles dispatched over from the USA. My tastes range from Amadeus to ZZTOP. Music has always pumped through my veins and a day has never passed without it.

It was New Year's Eve (not in the graveyard before you say it) 1997 and the usual dross was being offered as entertainment by the UK channels, so I started to channel hop around the European stations. I have a satellite dish covering Europe and Scandinavia. The German channels always have music variety shows throughout the year and were a good place to start. Luckily enough I landed on a channel just starting a concert with an interesting looking character playing violin and conducting. They were so colorful compared to the deadly serious looking orchestras we are used to, and I was intrigued. The show was so brilliant that we were dancing and singing along (the perfect New Year scene). From that moment we were hooked on Andre Rieu and his orchestra. We constantly searched TV listings even though we couldn't speak the language and taped any music program they just might appear in. We were so successful at this that we built a library of video clips and shows from France, Germany and his home Holland to enjoy time and again.

Margaret was watching on the internet to see if they were doing any shows in the UK and her diligence paid off when the Royal Albert Hall date was announced. She sat at the phone holding until booking opened at 9 am and secured front row seats for us, much to our excitement (It'll never happen again). The show was more than brilliant and we were overjoyed when we saw the concert appear on Paris premier a couple of years later, which we recorded but subsequently bought the DVD when it was released.

Since then we have seen them at the 02 in London twice (first time sadly Andre was ill and postponed but tickets were honored in December).Twice at Maastricht 2012/2013, what an atmosphere there, and the people we met on the coaches were great fun. The 2012 outing found us wandering around Maastricht in the rain all afternoon, diving into pubs to escape the elements (my excuse) but the clouds parted as the concert began. The 2013 concert the reverse applied and we were all in our ponchos throughout, but our spirits weren't dampened. We went to the Brussels concert in 2011 also and we have fond memories of this outing. There were so many coaches from the UK and elsewhere that the police escorted us all through Brussels, closed the junctions to let us through and allowed us along the tram tracks.

Our loyalty hasn't waned in all that time as you can see by my enthusiasm and my postings on The Parlor on Facebook.

Thanks for reading, Bill Oliver

Nov 1, 2014

A Couple More of Our Earliest André Rieu Fans


Teresa Priest Who Lives in The UK

I first discovered Andre & the JSO in 1995, when my elder son gave us a satellite dish/receiver, set it to watch programs from Holland and Germany: RTL, ZDF etc. Lots of good variety shows: Musikanten Stadle with Karl Moik. And there on the TV was a handsome young man with a lovely smile, playing violin, and the orchestra members all smiling. We said: "This is very nice, what is his name.... ANDRE RIEU".

We recorded all the concerts on video tape, and because we could not buy his CDs in the UK, we had a good excuse for a short holiday to Holland, where we could buy André's CDs in Amsterdam.

When my husband became ill after a brain hemorrhage, he often did not know me, but he always recognized André, and the only way to help him feel calm, was to play the tapes of André's concerts. Such is the power of music!

The first Live concert that I attended was in June 2004 at the MEN Arena in Manchester, UK. A wonderful concert, but not very well attended, because not enough publicity.

After I obtained a computer, I got to know Sonja and her Translation site, and she encouraged me to travel to Maastricht, where I have enjoyed many concerts and made lots of friends. Now that André has finally become well known in UK, all of my friends and colleagues who used to say "ANDRE WHO "? now know who I was talking about 18 or 19 years ago!


Mireille Jourdan

Mireille is from France, she lives half the year in Paris and the other half in the Provence (south of France).

I have known the music of Andre since 1995 (only CD). The first live concert I attended was in 1997 in Olympia of Paris France. Since then I am addicted .... and I attend all Andre concerts I can and wherever I can!

My first photo with André was in Cortona (Italy) in July 2003 (DVD Live in Tuscany).


CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO CONTINUE READING ALL ARTICLES ON THE HARMONY PARLOR!!

.

.

.

.
Pierre and André September 30, 2016 Maastricht

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.
Photo Taken at Mexico City Concert ~ September 2013

.

.

.

.
"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

TOP TEN VIEWED POSTS IN THE PAST WEEK

TOP TEN VIEWED POSTS IN THE PAST THIRTY DAYS

TOP TEN ALL TIME VIEWED POSTS