André Rieu Announces Comeback After illness.

André Rieu Announces Comeback After illness.

World famous violinist says he “can’t wait!!”

April 11, 2012 Showbiz: It’s in the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen that Maastricht born number 1 classical musician Andre Rieu will perform his first concert, after a long period of illness and misery.

On his website Andre told his fans: “I want to thank you for your love and support. I’m overwhelmed by all the sweet get well messages, cards and gifts. Although the best remedy for now is taking a lot of rest and doing special exercises, your support really means a lot to me and does me well! Music is my life, so I hope I will be able to perform for you all soon again. My next concert will be on the 20th of April in Denmark, I hope to see you there or at one of the following concerts later this year!” 

The illness has mainly been caused by many years of non stop working the strain of touring. Rieu’s workaholic lifestyle stems from his childhood. Rieu had a tough upbringing with a strict conductor father who drilled him to follow in his footsteps. Rieu says it made him who he is today. Right now he has sold 35 million CDs and DVDs with the Johann Strauss Orchestra over a recording career spanning 18 years. Currently, Andre Rieu is the greatest pop star of classical music. 

Rieu says: “As a teenager the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and miniskirts were forbidden to me. And I was always dreaming of beautiful girls. So, I built my own world in my mind. My dream was to be on stage and play beautiful things. Strauss was the first pop star. Before him, you just had a minuet. With the waltz, the dancers started playing with their partners. The church found it obscene and forbade the waltz. Strauss was a genius, his pieces are so amazing, so bright, so cheerful … You have to get up and dance when you hear these waltzes. Did you know that they sent a rocket into space with a disc of Bach? They should have sent one of Strauss, then the aliens could waltz!” 

It’s because of the the waltz that Andre Rieu could realize his dream to popularize classical music. It’s theater, happy, noisy and full of extra-musical attractions such as ballet, comedians, ice skiing, as well as costumes and sets evoking the heydays of the waltz in Vienna. On stage, he undresses the accuracy of a conductor-violinist to play with the audience and musicians. A type of spectacle that fills arenas throughout the world, has been released on 35 DVDs, but there does not generate much prestige among critics, always tough on what they see as an excesses of kitsch and crossover. 

It does not trouble Rieu: “From the top of the stage I see the audience. Young and old, the janitor and the teacher, every kind of person who wants to open their heart. Everyone but the critics, who are there to be critical. I know I do my job with honesty and education. What’s wrong with that? When I founded the Johann Strauss Orchestra, I was a violinist planning to release an album of waltzes to submit to the general public. I invited record company executives for the concerts and almost always got the same answer: a disc with waltzes? Go back to your grandmother! It took seven years before a guy went to a concert. The next day he invited me to record. I thought the CD would sell about five thousand copies in the Netherlands. That year, we sold 950,000 discs.” 

Even after his illness Rieu isn’t thinking about slowing down: “Touring the world is my life. Because I’m not a hit artist, I have to do many concerts. All that exists for me is good music and bad music. Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna … they are all fantastic. So am I going to say “um, no, this is not classical music …?” The great thing of being on stage is to see how people are happy. I always come onstage very nervous, but just see the faces of the audience to calm myself down. 

Millions of fans worldwide eagerly await the return of their favourite musician, so this is no small scale comeback. Starting in Denmark the king of waltz will then travel to Brazil where he will play 12 mega concerts in Sao Paulo. 

It does not seem André has learned much from the two complete burn outs he has suffered in the last two years, that forced him to stop working completely. 

His friend Mirusia Louwerse says: “André draws new strength from day to day. We are looking forward to the upcoming concerts.”