André Rieu Waltzes Into Melbourne Australia

André Rieu Come's a Waltzing to Melbourne

Melbourne's Herald Sun October 29, 2009 by John Hamilton

ANDRÉ Rieu the flying Dutch musical sensation with his $11 million Stradivarius flew into Melbourne yesterday and proclaimed the Blue Danube Waltz was the secret to longevity. "The most important thing in life is your health, here in your head," he said, "and the waltz is my secret."

Accompanied by 110 musicians, singers and crew, Rieu will give the first of four Melbourne concerts tonight at Rod Laver Arena. "It is not as big as last year because last year I was crazy, travelling with 500 people and two castles," he said. "There are no castles this time, just a backdrop with beautiful lights, beautiful music and lots of waltzes. "Waltzing touches my heart, and when I play the waltz it will touch the audience's hearts too."

The maestro was moving at more than fast foxtrot speed when he rushed into his hotel yesterday afternoon. Our interview was constrained to 10 minutes. He made straight for the dining room, where he ordered sushi and started conducting with a chopstick and humming along to illustrate his point.

"When you play the waltz in the right way you can see everyone move in the right way," he said. "I play the Danube every night and you can see people move and float, hum and smile. I want to touch their hearts."

Rieu has been on the road for 30 years. Yet in the first six months of this year he was the fourth top concert earner in the world, after Britney Spears, Madonna and Tina Turner. From January to July he had sold 554,242 tickets and taken $57.4 million. His Live in Australia DVD, which followed his tour last year is the fastest-selling music DVD in Australian history. It is only one of his dozens of bestselling DVDs and CDs. But he has no intention of slowing down.

"I've just turned 60 - I am only starting out. I'm going to keep going until I'm 120," he proclaimed."You laugh - but the scientists are working on it." His only regret on this tour is that he missed the births of his new granddaughters."They promised me they would stay in their mother until I came back home, but they are naughty girls and didn't do that," he said.

What sort of travelling companion is his Stradivarius? "People often ask me whether I believe it is some kind of human being," he said. "No, I don't believe that. "It's a violin, a piece of wood, but a fantastic piece of wood made by a genius. It has become part of my body, more than a friend."

What does the maestro do with people who cough during his concerts? "Nothing," said Andre Rieu, stabbing with his chopstick for emphasis. "Why do people cough at concerts? "Because they are bored. "And in my concerts they are never bored, so they do not cough."

He smiled, ordered the soy sauce in Dutch, applied both chopsticks to the sushi, and the interview was over.

Rieu and his Orchestra, play the first of their four Concerts at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena tonight.

Here is a video Chris T found of this interview! ►http://player.video.news.com.au/heraldsun/#1310753917