André Rieu's Chapeau Column for November 2012

André Rieu

My Routine Is Well Established

Chapeau Column, November 2012: My new lifestyle suits me just fine. A minimum of ceremonies; no receptions or openings of events. Only making music, performing and working out, almost every day. You get used to it. It is now, of course, a part of my life. And still under the guidance of my wonderful trainer. This of course is very nice, because that keeps me quite motivated. And the rewards are great: for months now I have been feeling great and am in great shape, which is necessary in order to continue to do those concert tours. 

That also includes a good healthy diet, which does not only apply to me privately, but also to my entire orchestra and crew when we are on tour. Not that previously we ate badly, definitely not. At a very early stage we brought our own cooks along. And now it is becoming more and more organic. If you approach that a bit more seriously, you become more conscious about it all. In the past with all what was going on, I did not pay much attention to that. It is still quite busy, but that has become a real priority to us, so that we all stay healthy and fit. Once you opt for a healthier choice, then, according to me, you will continue with that. The natural products taste better, which in itself is a benefit. 

Quite a relief now since through my illness of earlier this year, all the postponed concerts have now been made up in October and that was the last series we did in that regard, which was in Germany, Switzerland and France. You now have the feeling that everything has straightened itself out. Now we are planning hard for 2013 and 2014. Around the world, the interest is still growing strong, which gives you a great feeling. We are preparing a new tour for Brazil in 2013 and are also looking at other countries in South-America. We will again go to the USA and Canada, and Australia and New Zealand are also on the program. China is becoming more and more serious. Our people have already been there searching for suitable locations. Of course with all this we are not going to forget Maastricht. *Since recently the second weekend ticket sales are now in effect for the traditional Vrijthof concerts. Those of you who live in this country and cannot wait that long, you can at end of the month, visit us at the Ahoy in Rotterdam. 

At this time we are very much looking forward to the Christmas tour in England, Scotland and Ireland. The venues are all as good as sold out, so that looks promising. The public there is blazingly enthusiastic, and the funny thing is, they themselves were astonished by this. They find themselves quite a stiff people - maybe others at times find that too, ha-ha - but with Viennese waltzes they are just as passionate as the rest of the world. Fantastic is that, my orchestra and I  enjoy that immensly when we are able to experience that. 

I felt extremely honored that recently in the Royal Albert Hall in London I received the Classical Brit Award for the best album of the year. That is something to be proud of, although I find all the hustle and bustle associated with the event not really that enjoyable. But this time it was just fine, since I was surprised by the presence of a very special table companion Sir Anthony Hopkins, who together with me also walked on the red carpet. His waltz "And the Waltz goes on," is in fact on the CD for which I received the award. We stay in contact via email; he is a wonderful person, so it was great to see him again. 

The British are so excited about our music that on 24 November in cinemas all across the nation our Christmas special will be shown, which was recorded late last year in Maastricht. Therefore, and with pleasure, I am again advertising for my city, which I normally do all over the world. This way I am also contributing my part in our candidacy for Cultural Capital. The DVD and CD of our Christmas special are now available in the Netherlands, so we again are in an early Christmas spirit. It was a massive task last year, but now we can very satisfactorily reflect back on that since we were able to produce something very nice in our own city. 

Christmas for our family remains a fantastic family event together with our children and grandchildren. Something you can only celebrate at home. I enjoy it immensely. New year’s eve in contrast is always a bit subdued, for the simple reason that on New Year's Day in the afternoon we are already on the stage in the Cologne Arena, which has been a tradition for many years. This time, due to the silver jubilee of the arena itself, the entire Maastrichter Staar will also be there for an extra festive start of the New Year. I wish you all a Happy Christmas Holiday and in the meantime, a very good beginning in the New Year. See you in 2013!!

André Rieu 

*John’s note. Reference the second weekend ticket sales for the Vrijthof concerts in Maastricht for 2013. We are not aware nor have we seen any official publication to this effect. Remember last year when André in this column stated that the concerts would be first weekend in July of 2012 ......... Thank you to Ineke for sending this and John Translating it.