André Rieu's First Appearance in Wilkes Barre

ANDRE RIEU'S MEMORABLE FIRST APPEARANCE WILKES BARRE

Wilkes-Barre Penn. May 16, 2009 ~ Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu made his first trip to Wachovia Arena Casey Plaza a memorable one Friday evening, stopping as part of his 30th Anniversary Tour with the Johann Strauss Orchestra before an audience of 4,375.

A native of Maastricht in the Netherlands, Rieu is largely held as responsible for the revival of the famed waltz synonymous with the Johann Strauss. Reiu has taken an art form that to some is either too highbrow or completely complicated and made it more accessible.

Rieu paints musical landscapes through his music, combining its presentation with an irresistible charm that draws in the genre’s harshest critic. The show is an exercise in elegance.Women are dressed in full-length, flowing gowns while men are decked out in meticulous tuxedoes, all lending to the ambiance Rieu creates.

Reiu’s playlist of waltzes, polkas and show tunes magically captured the audience from his grandiose entrance to the arena through the evening’s final notes. Arias from various operas to operettas to a collage of show tunes, Reiu captured the imagination of his concertgoers. Reiu’s sentimental journey down life’s highway with music as the guidepost makes for a truly enjoyable ride.
Rieu’s playlist at Wachovia Arena included the title theme song from “Titanic,” Mozart’s “Adagio from Violin Concerto No. 3” and “Vienna, the City of My Dreams.” Everything he touched Friday evening turned to gold and received warm and generous applause from the audience.

André Rieu’s performances are an excercise in musicianship and elegance. Unlike many of today’s concert productions, there is heavy reliance on technical wizardry, vocal enhancement and yes, even some little help along the way with digital reinforcement. Not only do you sense that is not afoot with André Rieu, you seem to find it unnecessary.

Rieu plays his Stradivarius and conducts from center stage for most of the evening. The platform was eloquently appointed with flowers, skirting and subdued lighting.

Rieu and the Johann Strauss orchestra aim to make classical music more accessible to the masses through a methodology of varying themes and colorful orchestral presentations. Whether those classical music aficionados feel either betrayed or abandoned by this approach, you would have been hard pressed to convince the audience otherwise. Written by Aexandar Choman Citizens’ Voice Music Critic

CLICK on Link For Another Great Review of This concert ► Classical artist rocks arena - REVIEW

A Note Here ~ The article says that André's "Greatest Hits" is number 8 on the Billboard Charts ... it's actually number FOUR this week!!! :)