ANDRÉ RIEU ABOUT HEALTH AND ENERGY

April 7th 2021- From: Envida Magazine: Gezond Thuis (Healthy at Home)  

OPTIMIST BY NATURE

He is 71 years old and prefers to travel around the world with his orchestra. How does he stay so fit and enterprising? A story with a world-famous Maastricht resident who gets energy from making music, who learns Spanish with the help of Tintin and who grants himself a a little transgression every day.

ANDRÉ RIEU ABOUT HEALTH AND ENERGY

The interview with André Rieu takes place in the early spring. Due to the lockdown normal life has come to a halt, also for this world-famous Maastricht resident.

 How are you right now? And your health?

"Fine, I am healthy, I feel fit and have luckily stayed clean away from the corona so far. But I am very happy that there are vaccines now and that the over 70ers are eligible for their turn of an innoculation in the foreseeable future. As soon as I am notified, I let myself  be vaccinated”.

PATIENCE IS NOT NORMALLY MY STRONGEST CHARACTER TRAIT, BUT THIS IS GOOD PRACTICE.

 Your life of making music and travelling suddenly come to a standstill, that has to be tough. How do you deal with that?

"Fortunately I don't experience it as arduous, only very annoying. It's a question of being patient. Normally patience isn't really my strongest trait, but this is good practice!”

Are there also bright spots?

“Of course! I see my children and grandchildren every now and then and those are the best things there is. My orchestra members also surprise me regularly with flowers, photos, cards, gifts, homemade cookies or other sweet treats. We have an enormous band together and I realy notice that now since we are not allowed to tour.

What do you do to stay optimistic?

"I don't have to do anything special for that. By nature I am an optimist and am convinced that things will be fine again”.

Normally you perform night after night and travel the world. Where do you get the energy for that?

"The concerts with my orchestra don't cost any energy, they're full of energy! It is really fantastic to play wonderful music night after night and make people happy with it. Everyone in the orchestra is 100% commited every every night and we get so much in return. When you see all those happy people beaming, laughing, dancing and clapping in front of you, then you are completely happy”.

On paper you are 70+, how old do you feel?

“I'm 71 and I'm fine. I am fit and happy and full of energy”.

What do you think is the cause?

YOU SHOULD TAKE LIFE IN YOUR OWN HANDS AND NOT WAIT TO SEE IF SOMETHING MIGHT BE DONE FOR YOU.

"On the one hand, I think, it's my nature. I'm not a person who gives up easily. On the other hand, I do everything I can. "Jeder ist seines Glückes Schmied," (everyone is the blacksmith of his own luck) said Goethe (German author). You have to take your life into your own hands and not patiently wait to see if anything might be done for you."

How would you describe your own lifestyle?

"Healthy, both psychologically and physically. I take good care of myself and I also like to take care of the people around me. I cook healthy every day, very varied, and at four o'clock I make something tasty. Not a lot, not a big piece of whipped cream pie, but a nice snack. This afternoon I had made a mini portion of Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian pancake dish). Delicious, with a dab of butter and icing sugar. According to dietitians, this may not be healthy, but for the mind it is! And yesterday a mini veal croquette after on a recipe from Cees Holtkamp. I don't smoke or drink alcohol, so every now and then a nice little transgression should be possible!"

Do you have a special diet?

"No, just healthy and varied. That can be a decent Dutch meal, such as red cabbage with minced meat, but I also like to watch foreign chefs on YouTube and sometimes copy their recipes. For example Greek moussaka. Or I make myself a pizza, from homemade dough and only healthy things on top. My trainer's advice is: little red meat, fish twice a week, twice white meats such as chicken, fruit and vegetables every day. Low in sugar and fat and especially no trans fats. And a protein shake every day, especially for my muscles.

What is your favorite food? And - in this area- your  guilty pleasure?

"I don't have a preference, I like almost everything”.

How important is exercise to you?

'Very important. I train three times a week, together with my son Pierre, for an hour and a half with a personal trainer. That is pretty tough. We do everything: bench press, leg press, weightlifting, squats and so on. After that I am exhausted, but I still have a wonderful feeling. Furthermore, I walk every day with my wife Marjorie and our dog, and I walk on the treadmill for 1.5 hours on days when the trainer does not come.”

 What about when you don't feel like it for a day?

"I can still hear my parents say: You better succumb to it, ha ha! As a child you hated that when your parents said that, but of course they were right. As an adult you no longer ask yourself whether you feel like it or not. Sports MAKES sense, that's what it's all about! "

Just a walk or a bike ride is there for you even as a celebrity?

“Of course it is! We walk around here in the neighborhood and have a chat with people living in the street. At a distance of a meter and a half, of course. I'm not famous here, just a local resident."

Do you ever feel the need to clear your mind completely?

"Clear my mind? I'm glad there is something in there! Imagine if it was empty. No, an empty head doesn't seem like anything to pursue. I like to think about everything, to fantasize and dream, to hatch new ideas, to think of lovely people, of my children and grandchildren, of beautiful and fun things. I imagine what it will be like when the pandemic is over and we can perform again. When I can hug friends again, go and stand wherever I want. "

Other ways to relax?

"In the evenings I like to watch TV shows with Marjorie, such as" Pride and Prejudice ", or "Die jungen Ärzte" (The young doctors: German TV program). I relax well with that. Doom and gloom and romance, wonderful. I like to cook and bake and find that very relaxing to do. But I am not consciously looking for relaxation, that comes naturally after exertion. For example, I am now using the time to learn Spanish, but I do so in a very special way. I am reading all the Tintin books in Spanish and write the new words in a notebook. When I've read all thirty, I'm going to read them in Portuguese. Not that I necessarily want to learn to speak those languages, I just see how far I can get with them. I especially enjoy doing it”.

Which things give you energy?

"First of all, that's my job. So making music, rehearsing, giving concerts. Those are the things that normally give me energy and which are now not allowed, unfortunately. I do practice the violin every night”.

Which people or things inspire you? Do you have any examples?

“When I'm on tour, I have too much adrenaline in my blood in the evening after a concert to go straight to sleep. Then I often go to You Tube and watch baking movies, for example by Cees Holtkamp. Ever since I was forced to sit at home, I've started baking all those pastries he inspired me to do. A very nice new hobby.

What will you do first when we can largely let go of the corona measures?

"I hope to go back into the studio with my orchestra as soon as possible to rehearse and record a new CD. Marjorie and I already have the ideas for this for the most part and I am eager to implement them. Making music together, both in the studio and on stage, is what I miss most at this day and age”.

Let's assume you turn 100. What do you hope your life will look like then?

"As soon as corona is over, I hope to be able to resume my life from before March 2020, and that is so wonderful that I want to continue with that for as long as possible. Until now we have given about a hundred concerts a year. Maybe when I'm 90, it'll only be 90, haha! We'll see. Robert Stolz was still conducted when he was 95. Johannes Heesters still sang with 104 and still had a very strong voice. So I'm just going to keep going."

Did you stay in touch with friends over the past year? Perhaps on the other side of the world?

"Most of our friends live nearby, in the broader sense of the word. I mean in Maastricht, the Netherlands, Germany. We are in regular contact, via WhatsApp or telephone. Last summer we also met in the garden, 1.5 m distance. I am really looking forward to being able to hug everyone again. We also love to go on trips and excursions with friends, to Germany or Rome. Marjorie and I miss that very much now”.

How important are friendships to you?

 "Friends are, next to your partner, children and grandchildren, the gravy of life, the connection with the outside world, a blessing for your soul. So indispensable!"

What is your wish for people in need of care?

"I'm glad you asked that. Care must be there for everyone, professionally, thoroughly and lovingly. The people who work in healthcare are worth their weight in gold. They deserve great respect and that should also be reflected in their salary. We cannot reward them enough for their wonderful work! For the people who need care, I wish they receive optimal, professional and loving care. I also hope that with our music through the media I can occasionally bring them some happiness.

 Thanks Ineke for the article and her and John's Translation    Brought to our attention by Jean Ramaekers of Maastricht.

Pierre Rieu Continues To Work on War Museum

Pierre Rieu Continues To Work on His War Museum

Pierre Rieu at the first house build for his experience center   Photo by Harry Heuts  

In a warehouse in Maastricht, Pierre Rieu is working hard to realize his dream: an experience museum about the Second World War. Especially for the youth.

 de Limburger, by Rob Cobben - You have war museums of all shapes and sizes, says Pierre Rieu. And he should know. The 39-year-old son of the famous violinist and orchestra leader has visited many of them. Quite a few. Because he has a fascination with everything that has to do with World War II. But the museum that he and his group of friends – Fifty Shades of Green – have been quietly working on in Maastricht for a few years now is going to be different, he says. Target group: children. Key word: experience.

Rieu: "Of course I don't have a museum background, but I have been working in the entertainment industry for twenty years (he is managing director of his father's company, André Rieu Productions, ed.) and know how to attract and hold people's attention. I use these experiences for this initiative."

He proudly shows a white model with fifteen rooms. Visitors will soon be guided from room to room by a guide. Each stay covers a different aspect of the war. For this, Rieu uses audiovisual productions and characters who played a role in the war. Like the American pilot Charles A. Dimmock. The second lieutenant of the 53rd Fighter Squadron from Pennsylvania was shot out of the sky over the Parkstad on

 November 7, 1944. His remains are in the American cemetery in Margraten. Rieu: "Dimmock symbolizes the fifty million people who died during the war."

Photo by Harry Heuts

Bomber

To increase the experience, technical tricks are being used, such as moving floors. As a visitor, you stand in a bomber to see how the hatch opens underneath you and the bombs fall out. Then all of a sudden you see other planes flying eerily close to you. The décor consists of items that come from the war years and the time of the reconstruction. "We received a lot from a collector from Kerkrade," Rieu says, showing the first house that has been recreated and copied. "But we could still use a lot. So if people still have something from that time and want to get rid of it..."

The story of the resistance is also discussed, and that of the Jews and people in hiding. "It has to be a matter of going through it, without it becoming an amusement park." His experience centre should be ready in two years. "We have been delayed due to corona. Normally we come here every Wednesday with 25 friends and tinker with army vehicles and build the museum. But because of corona, of course, that has not been allowed for a long time. I can work here on my own, but the strength of our club is to do that together. Over the years, Fifty Shades of Green has become a close friend's club with a shared passion. The company is very diverse – from an ENT surgeon and goldsmith to a mechanic and welder. There are also five fathers and sons among them. Really special!"

Photo by Harry Heuts

Fascinated by the war

Pierre Rieu became interested in World War II as a teenager. Primarily through his grandparents. His maternal grandmother was married to a German Jew and was in the resistance. "She is my great hero and inspiration!" His grandfather lost almost his entire family in the camps. At the age of sixteen, Rieu became a guide at Fort Eben-Emael, the former defensive works of the Belgians near Maastricht which was captured by air by the German troops. In 2004 he met Mattie Tugendhaft in Israel. Who turned out to have been helped in the war by Rieu's grandmother in hiding: "Goosebumps to hear this story and discover this connection between our families." Because at the end of the day, when it comes to talking about the terrible war, it's not about material, it's about people, says Rieu. "Mattie's wife Myrna talks about her stay in concentration camps in schools. How her mother died there, but with that had no emotion at all. Because her mother was so bad off that she stopped noticing the difference between life and death. Then it's dead quiet in class."

Ambitions

It will be a private museum, where you can go only by appointment, says Rieu. "In the first instance, we mainly focus on school classes and families with children."

But the ambitions are great. Should the initiative be a success, he and his friends club also want to create a mobile version, which will go all over the world. "But that's something for later..."

The experience museum is currently taking shape in a large warehouse in Amby, next to the office and close to the studio of André Rieu Productions. The visitor centre will be located on the first floor, which has been expanded for this purpose. On the ground floor are various vehicles and other materials from the Second World War which Rieu has collected since he was nineteen. And that collection is large, including a GMC truck (load capacity 2.5 metric tons), a Diamond Wrecker (truck with crane to transport broken vehicles), a DUKW (an amphetical auxiliary vehicle) and an Achilles Tank Destroyer.

And then there are countless uniforms, helmets and other war attributes, which have been stored elsewhere for the time being because of the recent burglaries at some war museums. They're all going to get a place in the museum. As an entourage upon entering, Rieu explains. Because the focus is on the stories that are told and made tangible. "When children come home after a visit and tell them that they had a fantastic day, if they are impressed by all those soldiers who have volunteered for our freedom and realize that we must do everything we can to prevent wars in the future, then my mission is successful..."

 

Rieu shows the mock-up of his future museum. Photo by Harry Heuts

If anyone still has items from the war years and wants to give them up can contact us via info@fiftyshadesofgreen.nl

 

Thanks to John for this translation