Rieu Is Very Proud of His Monument

André Rieu Is Very Proud of His Monument

Since yesterday André Rieu has his own little monument on the Vrijthof. Together with Mayor Annemarie Penn-te Strake the world renowned violinist and orchestra leader placed the last stones next to the bronze plaque.

Maastricht, de Limburger by Mark Cobben: As if he has done nothing else in his entire life, André Rieu skillfully taps a cobblestone with a hammer into the ground next to his bronze memorial plaque. "May I have some sand?" he asks laughingly. He is proud, "very proud" he then says. A plaque with my name on it. On this beautiful square in my birth town. Here I will lay forever ..." 

The violinist and orchestra leader received a memorial last summer from the municipality of city of Maastricht during his 100th concert on the Vrijthof. The plaque reflects one of the sentences of the Maastricht anthem: "Eus ougen bloonken bei dien glories" (Our eyes are tearing due to your triumphs) In addition the Maastricht skyline is depicted on it. "I was totally blown away that I was to receive this token of recognition from my city," while he reflected back to that moment of 21 July 2019. The plaque is located on the eastern side of the square, exactly on the same spot where Rieu and is son  Pierre wait together for the last three minutes before he walks onto the stage.

André Rieu started in 2005 with three concerts. This year the 15th edition took place with the 100th concert, and also the one millionth visitor was welcomed. "Who would have expected that?" he asks. "I definitely did not! I could never have imagined that my concerts would be indispensable in this city. Back then I just started with the idea of: "We'll see." That is how I live too, I plan infrequent. I'll just see ..."

Anxious Moments

Rieu just returned from Chili where he had to cancel a concert tour in that country last week due to huge demonstrations. His musicians experienced some anxious moments he tells. "One hundred fifty meters from our hotel a gasoline station went up in flames, as tanks roared through the street. When you are by yourself or with someone else you think it will all turn out alright. But we were with 120 people. And you want to get them to a safe place as quickly as possible. I was very relieved when we landed in Buenos Aires." He and his orchestra will depart in two weeks for Spain and Portugal for a nine concert tour. And at the end of December there will be three Christmas concerts in the MECC in Maastricht that will be quite a spectacle he predicts. "Although it will be quite a challenge to turn the MECC into a cozy place."

But we will succeed" he says, "even although it will cost us a lot. We are going to give the people an unforgettable experience."

Summer Concert Dates Announced

Yesterday the first Vrijthof concert dates for 2020 were made known.

They will take place on 3, 4 and 5 July.

"We start like always with three concerts and can expand to twelve.

We do not want to do more since that places too much of a burden on the city," 
according to Pierre. The presale starts this coming Wednesday

Experience

According to son Pierre, the Christmas concerts are not to be compared to the Vrijthof concerts. "This will be a totally different experience. Visitors upon entering will be received by brass players and immediately transferred into a Christmas Winter Wonderland. Ice rinks will be built and a small version of "Winter Land" will be built up. The aim is, according to Pierre Rieu, that the Christmas Concerts will become an annual event.

Thanks to John for his translation of this article