Prince Colin I (Falize) of the Bokkeriejesj

Prince Colin I (Falize) of the Bokkeriejesj (Billy-goat riders) from Heerlerheide (Limburg) plays the Boléro during André Rieu's world tour.

De Limburger, January 10, 2020 by Siebrand Vos - These are busy  days for the brand new Prince and we ask him everything. Today: Colin I (Falize) (23) from De Bokkeriejesj (Billy-goat riders) from Heerlerheide, a town in Limburg.

The Prince of the Carnival's Association The Billy-goat Riders is always lured first to a secret location in Heerlerheide. Can you tell us something about that?

"My parents had perfectly prepared it in secret with the Princes' Committee. When I opened the door there, I literally fell in due to a stile, which was actually placed there for this effect. Furthermore, I am not allowed to say anything about it because this location could be used again next year. In Heerlerheide it is still a competition to guess as to who the new Prince will be - that says something about how lively carnival is here".

The new Prince hails from a family of percussion instrument players and professional musicians. You're no exception are you?

"No, I am in the final year at the Pop Academy in Enschede (town in Holland) as a drummer. My father and brothers are classically trained. I'm a little bit in between. I am a part time-on-call employee with André Rieu, where as my father Marcel and brother Glenn are in permanent employment. Playing with Rieu just because of the entourage, is a fantastic experience. During the upcoming world tour the four of us (my middle brother Dean is also participating - are playing  the Boléro by Ravel, at the front of the stage. Earlier my father Marcel Falize did that alone”.

Does Colin I also play drums with a brass band?

"No. Only with the band “Jachthoorn and Trompetterkorps Edelweiss” (hunting horn and trumpet corps Edelweiss) and the orchestra “Lift-Off Percussion & Entertainment”.  And also with the Tyrolean music band “Tiroler Ohne Berge” (Tirolers without Mountains), with which we also played during the exclamation. With “Edelweiss” we always participate in the procession of Groeët Ghen Heij. That is one of the largest processions in the region. For me the upcoming procession will be very special, because I am a genuine boy from Heerlerheide. The procession goes from Heerlerheide to Nieuw Einde and then back via Heksenberg. Just imagine: I was born and raised in Nieuw Einde, now I live in Heerlerheide and I rehearse in Heksenberg. Everywhere there are acquaintances.”

Thank You Ineke for the article and your and John's Translation

André Rieu - I Have To Live in a Castle

Gazet van Antwerpen (Antwerp newspaper). January 5th 2020. By Karel Moors - World famous Dutch orchestra leader André Rieu celebrates the New Year also in Antwerp, Belgium on January 12^th 2020 in the Sport Palace.

I have to live in a castle, because I am the King of the Waltz

Violinist and orchestra leader André Rieu recently turned 70. The world famous Maastricht resident speaks about his severe upbringing, the cool bond with his father and the increasing success. “I have the feeling that it starts now! Seriously!”

“D’Artagnan, one of the three musketeers ate his last breakfast in this kitchen. He died later that day." Violinist and orchestra leader André Rieu talks about the anecdote at his home, a charming little castle in Maastricht. The 70 year old Rieu is very successful: during his career he has already earned over 493 million Euros. But here in his castle, "the King of the Waltz" can relax. “From a financial perspective, buying a castle is very unwise. But yes, I have to live in a castle: I am "the King of the Waltz”. (laughing).

Since recently you are on tram 7

Tram 7?? Do you mean my age?? I looked forward to 70, I did not mind it.

Do you have much time to relax?

Oh yes, I can do that every day. I watch Netflix for a bit, or I nap in between. I sleep a lot. I can always sleep, every moment of the day.

Isn't there anything that keeps you awake?

I had that after we copied Schönbrunn Palace and we ran out of money. (Rieu had created an enormous décor which turned out to be so expensive that he went bankrupt, red).

That was not so nice. Fortunately we prevailed, and how ... The copied castle was such an advertising stunt that we profited 20 million the year after, while the year before we were 30 million in the red. The bankers from whom we had borrowed the money were in this room looking around and considering what more they could take. But one banker said: “No, we are not going to do that. Let him keep playing on, because that is the only way we are going to get our money back”. We are doing well now. 2019 was a top year and next year will probably be even better. Thanks to the social media I think. More and more people learn to know me via the internet.

There will also be a cinema film?

Yes, that is my son’s project. At first I did not like it so much, but I hear that the cinemas are filled with people who enjoy a streamed concert just as much as a live concert. And now that I turned 70, they want to release such a film. I read that Bruce Springsteen recently also turned 70 and is also releasing a film. That was not agreed upon though (laughing). And in 70 years we will again release a film, because I want to become 140.

You want to become 140 years old?

Yes, for sure! I try to live healthy, I work out regularly. Don’t play tennis anymore (points to his elbow) because that is not good for a violinist. Now I do power lifting with a personal trainer.

Most people slow down a little when they’re 70

I have the feeling that it is now just starting. Seriously! I notice that while traveling the world; finally people in the streets recognize me now. And then of course they also buy tickets. It is amazing.

You are mostly radiant on stage. Do you ever have a bad day?

No, never, unless I am ill. Even then I try to smile and go on. I have 120 persons on my payroll. I give them attention and they reciprocate back to me with 100% job satisfaction.

You know, of course I am the boss. And I am also the conductor of the orchestra. And an orchestra is no democracy, only one is the boss. Period.

Are you a strict boss?

Yes. Very sweet but strict and they know that very well (laughs heartily). But I am also a very respectful boss. Sometimes, when someone is playing a solo, I think - “I would have done that differently, but it sounds very good”. Then I leave it like that. You have to lift the people up. That is a boss’s task. A good boss.

Did you have to learn to be a boss? Or was that in you?

In early days I was part of my father’s orchestra. That was not nice. He was a different kind of boss. You know, with always pointing the finger. I learned NOT to do that like my father did!!

Did your father André Rieu senior experience your success?

No. We did not have such a good relationship either. I started with a Salon Orchestra. I then played for weddings and parties which my father did not like that at all. He looked down upon that.

What would your father say if he could see what you’ve accomplished today?

I really would not know. It is easy to say: “He would be proud”. But he was not that kind of person. I have never experienced my father saying: “Gosh, I am so proud of you”. I never heard that. He never said so. Never. Not even when I was a little boy. That is cold, but I have to deal with that. My mother was also strict with me; I was not allowed to look the people in the eyes. But I like doing that. I love to make contact with people, with entire halls. And I think that is also my strength. Well, I think I have always been different than the family at home.

You are the King of the Waltz, but are you actually a good waltz dancer? 

No, not at all. Sometimes I dance a little bit at home, with my wife, but not in public. I play the violin and the others dance. Let’s leave it that way!

Thanks to Ineke for the article and her and John's Translation

André Rieu 70 Years Young Dutch Cinema's

André Rieu 70 Years Young

Cinema movie. In Dutch cinemas on January 18 and 19, 2020. De Limburger, January 15, 2020. This coming weekend the film "André Rieu: 70 Years Young" can be seen in 110 Dutch cinemas. For this movie, the maestro himself selected memorable moments from his career., Together with the British presenter and interviewer Charlotte Hawkins, the waltz king from Maastricht looks back on his life and shows highlights from his concerts.

What would have happened to André Rieu if as a little boy, he hadn't received a violin lesson from a beautiful eighteen-year-old blonde? Would he still have chosen the four-string instrument and had become a successful orchestra leader? Or would he have then led a much more anonymous life as a pianist or oboist?

It is a question that remains after watching the film "André Rieu: 70 Years Young," which premiered the first weekend of January in 1300 cinemas in Europe, North and South America (except the US) and Asia and can be seen in 110 Dutch cinemas next Saturday and Sunday.

In this film, Rieu speaks about his youth. How he, as a three-year-old boy went to the concerts which his father conducted and became fascinated by all those bows going up and down simultaneously. And how he was pushed by his parents to try out all kinds of musical instruments, such as flute, piano, violin and oboe. In the end, little Rieu chose the violin. Because of an atractive female teacher, he says laughing.

He also says that the years he spent in the church choir of the St. Servaas Basilica, made a big impression on him. “The rays of sunlight that fell through the beautiful stained glass windows, the priests who swung the insence censer back and forth and the beautiful music. All the theatrical elements that I now use in my shows, I learned there”.

Yellowed photos

Many photos from the yellowed family albums pass by. André as a toddler, teenager and adolescent. Rieu speaks about his memories with presenter Charlotte Hawkins. About the first encounter with his wife Marjorie: "I was 11 and she 13"; the first performance of his Salon Orchestra in 1977; and ten years later the establishing of the Johann Strauss Orchestra and the big breakthrough with the album “From Holland With Love” (VHS tape)  in the mid-nineties. And the blockbuster: Rieu’s version of The Second Waltz by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Did he expect that success, the female interviewer wants to know. So no. "I remember that the record company said we might maybe sell 25,000 copies. They turned out to be more than a million. Amazing!

The orchestra leader becomes emotional when the female interviewer asks about the Schönbrunn project in 2008. Rieu had the famous Viennese palace copied and reconstructed and went on tour with it. It almost led to his bankruptcy. The waltz king had to work so hard to pay off his debts that he almost lost everything. Tears appear in his eyes when his son Pierre says in front of the cameras that the entire family supported him in that difficult time. André Rieu: "They all said: "We love you no matter what happens, even if you stop”. "That gave me the strength to continue."

105 year old nun

For the film, the 70-year-old protagonist selected excerpts from his most beautiful concerts with the Johann Strauss Orchestra. We see impressive recordings of shows in New York, Melbourne, Vienna, Bucharest, Mexico City and - where else - Maastricht. On the Vrijthof we see Rieu dancing a waltz with Sister Leona, a 105-year-old nun, who passed away a few months ago. She was his biggest fan.

At the end of the 2.5 hour film Charlotte Hawkins wants to know if Rieu is going to take it easier now that he has turned 70.

Rieu: “And then sit at home doing nothing? I feel young. I am 70 years old and I intend to turn 140. I am only halfway there. So you are not yet rid of me".

 Thanks to Ineke for the article and her and John's translation