André Rieu Does Not Think About Stopping

André Rieu does not think about stopping. 
"What I Do is Unique"

Nederlands Dagblad by:Sophia Geuze: In the beginning of October violinist and conductor André Rieu turned seventy. But he doesn't think about stopping. During Christmas time he will be given three Christmas concerts in Maastricht and in the New Year China beckons. Also the film "André Rieu: 70 Years Young premieres." I have a unique position in the Dutch music."

For the first time Christmas concerts  with your orchestra. What is your favorite Christmas number?

"There is a lot of beautiful Christmas music, but I have two favorite pieces. The song "Minuit Chrétien" gives me goose bumps every time. That is why I recorded it a few years ago with the male choir "Mastreechter Staar" and my sopranos. The second piece is the Christmas concert by Arcangelo Corelli. I used to think it was beautiful back then when it was played by my father's orchestra. It sounds very intimate and a bit mysterious. I think that's why it appeals to me so much."

What does Christmas mean to you?

"For me, Christmas is a period of rest, reflection and refueling for the next year. When younger I used to go to the Midnight Mass with my sisters, brothers and parents, and although I am no longer an avid churchgoer, I still find a Catholic Night Mass very special. I live across from the St. Peter Church and around Christmas I often hear the choir sounds coming from that church. It is beautiful. The huge bell "the Grameer" of the St. Servaas Basilica in the center of the city can also be heard. That sonorous sound gives me a very warm feeling."

How do you celebrate Christmas?

"After the last concert - this year for the first time Christmas concerts in the MECC in Maastricht - I, together with my orchestra and all our employees celebrate Christmas with gifts for everyone. I spend Christmas with my wife, our boys, their wives and of course our five grandchildren. We give each other presents and enjoy a self-prepared Christmas dinner."

Your concerts resemble an ideal world without borders and polarization. Are you consciously looking for that?

"I am certainly aware of that. Wouldn’t the world look different if we were all playing an instrument instead of picking up a weapon? If you look at the earth from space, the boundaries disappear. We are only humans and we have to work together. Music knows no boundaries, it is the art form "par excellence" that goes straight to the heart and actually needs no words to be understood by so many. Music is a universal language which we all speak and which we can all understand. How beautiful is that?"

How would you describe your role in Dutch music?

"I think I have a fairly unique position in Dutch music. My breakthrough took place in the mid-1990's - as they always call it. I had then recorded the Second Waltz as a single and it sold like wildfire. The CD with this song on it, stood in the top ten of the Album Top 100 for a year,  between Marco Borsato, the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls. I try to make classical music accessible to the widest possible audience, because I am convinced that this kind of music is meant for everyone. Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must have been real pop stars in their time. If they had lived now, they would probably have thousands of followers on Instagram and Face book and all the girls would want to take selfies with them."

How do you explain that you and your music are so popular in the Netherlands and far beyond?

"You will have to ask my fans that. I think the explanation lies in the fact that our concerts and music are borderless. The audience is invited to show all emotions. Laughing, crying, dancing, being melancholic, it's all possible and everything is possible. In addition, everything is authentic. I am really touched by the music I play. I choose my repertoire with my heart and that makes me almost certain that it will affect my audience just as much as it does me."

You are recognized everywhere. What does that do to you?

"That is the "fate of fame", I am simply a public figure. It is all part of that and it almost always goes well without any precarious situations. Sometimes it is a little less pleasant, for example when I am on vacation. Then occasionally people claim you and accost you for a selfie and a signature. Usually they leave me alone and I appreciate that."

You were already playing the violin when you were five. Why that instrument?

"All the children in our family play one or more instruments and each of them was chosen by our mother. She was convinced that the violin suited me best and she was right. No other instrument in the world is able to respond to my inner feelings like the violin. I also had oboe and piano lessons, but nowhere could I place so much passion into it as in the violin."

You said in interviews that your father had little faith in you. What do you do differently as a father?

"I hope that I most certainly do it different. He was a conductor, not only in the workplace, but unfortunately also at home. Everyone had to dance to his tune and do what he thought was right. Dealing with that was not easy. I think I am different in that at home as well as with the orchestra. I like to give people the space to do what they are good at, praise them in what they do and try to lift them up above themselves. Whether my father did that at his work, I can't remember.  As a father I am certainly different. I don't think I act the conductor at home. Otherwise my wife Marjorie would have definitely put a stop to that."

You have a lighter taste in music than your father who was a conductor. How did that happen?

"My father did indeed conduct the "real" classical works - for example a symphony by Mahler or Bruckner - but as an encore he often played a waltz by Johann Strauss. I played as a violinist in his symphony orchestra for a number of years, but I wanted to have more contact with the audience. With that in mind I founded the "Maastricht Salon Orchestra" in 1978. My father-in-law had a whole collection of gramophone records with hits from the 1920's. Since our first audience was mainly residing in retirement homes, I assumed there were probably people who would remember the music we played. So I slowly developed a different taste in music than that of my father, but that does not alter the fact that I can still enjoy Bach's cantatas. I love Aafje Heynis and I love Claudio Monteverdi's madrigals. For example, during my concerts I play the Bolero by Ravel or a part of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, but  won't play them entirely. That doesn't fit the atmosphere of my concerts."

You are best known for the waltz. What in it touches you?

"My father often played it as an encore. One time when I was playing during such an encore, something special happened. The audience, which had been sitting very quietly all night, slowly began to move back and forth. I was dumbfounded. Years later I discovered the magic power of the waltz myself. Everything is in the waltz: cheerfulness, sadness, melancholy, you name it. It is impossible to stay unaffected when you hear that compelling three-quarters time rhythm. There are many beautiful waltzes, but one of my favorites is Franz Lehár's "Gold and Silver" waltz, which I have been playing with great love for forty years. I don't dance myself, I leave that to my wife Marjorie. Let me gleefully play the waltzes, that is better for everyone."

How do you manage to conduct an entire orchestra, play the violin and involve the audience?

"I am what they call a "Stand-alone-violinist", which is a conductor who simultaneously plays the violin. Johann Strauss also did that during his time, and violinist Willy Boskowski conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in that manner for many years during the famous New Year's concerts from Vienna. By speaking to the audience I make contact with the people. That is very important to me. I could never just come on stage, stand there,  and start playing without saying anything to the people."

You have celebrated your 70th birthday. Some people cannot wait to retire. You continue. Why and how long?

"Old age pension, taking it easy;" those are terms which do not appear in my vocabulary. I will continue as long as I am afforded the time to make many people worldwide happy with the music I and  my orchestra play. I don't have a standard nine-to-five job. I have the best job in the world and I hope to keep that up for many years to come. "

What happens to your orchestra if suddenly you'd be gone?

"I'm never busy with the future. That is something I absolutely do not think about. I want to grow very old and just keep on going."

Who are your idols?

"Johann Strauss is a composer and musician whom I really admire. I also greatly admire my teacher Herman Krebbers, and Toon Hermans for his unique sense of humor. I would really like to perform with Bruce Springsteen. I am jealous of his endless energy, the way he performs and then gets the audience involved. "

A cinema show will follow in January with highlights of your career. What needed absolutely to be include in that?

"The concert in Vienna in front of Schloss Schönbrunn in 2006. No one had ever before us played at that place, and not after us either. I am always very proud of that since it was allowed by the Viennese authorities. Vienna is for every musician very special, and  I like going there. The year after Schönbrunn we gave a concert in the center of Vienna in front of the imperial Hofburg. There are also some highlights from that concert in the film, including the ballet of the Vienna State Opera."

Where is the best place to perform?

"Then I choose my home town of Maastricht where I prefer to be. Since 2005 we've organized concerts there every summer on the most beautiful square in the Netherlands, the Vrijthof. It feels like a home game. Throughout the year we give eighty to one hundred concerts on all continents. Afterwards we almost literally come home and all those people come to our "living room" to again end another year. "

Is there a place where you haven't played yet but would really like to do so?

"There are still some nice places. I would love to play on the moon, but that will not be possible for the time being. We are busy with concerts in China, Greece and in Malta. We went to Portugal in the spring of 2019, and we will return there in the fall. We also experienced our fire baptism in Colombia. It all tastes like more."

Thanks to Ineke for this long article and to

John for his translation of it.