Son Pierre Rieu, The Manager

Son Pierre, The Manager

He is the most important man at his father's side - and he has a very remarkable hobby.

Bild Stars Magazine: When Pierre speaks about his father, he does not call him papa or dad, but always André. For the 34 year old, André is his buddy - and at the same time the chef. A Bochum social scientist once made a discovery that career men only have two minutes time for their children each day. "Although André is a world star, he was always there for us" says Pierre. "When my older brother and I were in school André practiced. And when we returned home, most of the time he was already waiting for us. Whenever possible, he took us with him on his travels." In the meantime, Pierre has been working for André Rieu Productions B.V. for the past 15 years. "When Pierre as a 19 year old started to work for me, he was the youngest production manager in the world" says a proud father. Today, junior as Vice President, meticulously prepares for the worldwide tours. His most spectacular project: the copying of Schönbrunn Castle in full/original size for the 2008 "World Stadium Tour."

Pierre actually wanted to become a lawyer. "But after five weeks at the university I had enough. I did not like those boring law studies. If you've only worked once behind the scenes in a concert, you'll always want to be part of this exciting club again. In the middle of a job he made the most important decision in his life, he says. Eight years ago, Pierre was busy with the production of a DVD in the Dutch fairytale park "the Efteling." One evening a colleague called and noted that he thought that the director of the DVD projects would be the ideal girl for Pierre. Pierre: "I did not take this matchmaking attempt seriously. But when I worked for four months very closely with Eefje on the DVD, I realized that she actually was my great love." The rest of the story is just as corny as the "Kiss-Waltz" by Johann Strauss. Pierre and Eefje married and had twin girls, Linde and Lieke (now 6) Pierre Rieu: "On the Efteling DVD one can listen to "Tara's Theme" by Max Steiner. No musical piece touches me as deeply as this one. André and my Mom, Marjorie had a music-box made with this piece of music. Every evening my daughters go to sleep while listening to this music."

But Pierre Rieu refuses to become a "Perfect World" type person. He has a very remarkable hobby. In a large warehouse, the André Rieu Production B.V. company stores beautiful ball gowns, noble costumes, golden carriages and other artifacts to be used for the Waltz-King's tours. On the same premises- hidden behind a heavy steel door -is a war like backdrop: here Pierre Rieu collects tanks, jeeps, uniforms, helmets, camouflage equipment, gasmasks and field telephones from the Second World War. No, Pierre is not a militarist-even though he has the biggest military collection in the Netherlands. He only has one mission. And that is to build a museum-for the young people-so that the atrocities of the Nazis never will be forgotten.

That ambitious project is also the focus of their own family history: Marjorie Rieu's German-Jewish father was being persecuted during the war, while Marjorie's mother joined the resistance. Pierre Rieu: "The students of today may never forget that real war is not a video game. What it means for someone, having to flee and leave all their belongings behind. What is it like to lose a family member. And, would I be brave enough to bring a persecuted person into my house?"

When André hears the words of his son, he says thoughtfully; "If the Americans had not freed us, we would not be able to travel all over the world with our own orchestra." In moments like this, the bond between father and son is now much more noticeable than ever before.

Thanks to John for the Translation