André Rieu 70 Years Young
Cinema movie. In
Dutch cinemas on January 18 and 19, 2020. De Limburger,
January 15, 2020. This coming weekend the film "André Rieu: 70 Years
Young" can be seen in 110 Dutch cinemas. For this movie, the maestro
himself selected memorable moments from his career., Together with the British
presenter and interviewer Charlotte Hawkins, the waltz king from Maastricht
looks back on his life and shows highlights from his concerts.
What would have happened to André Rieu if as a little boy, he hadn't received a violin lesson from a beautiful eighteen-year-old blonde? Would he still have chosen the four-string instrument and had become a successful orchestra leader? Or would he have then led a much more anonymous life as a pianist or oboist?
It is a
question that remains after watching the film "André Rieu: 70 Years
Young," which premiered the first weekend of January in 1300 cinemas in
Europe, North and South America (except the US) and Asia and can be seen in
110 Dutch cinemas next Saturday and Sunday.
In this
film, Rieu speaks about his youth. How he, as a three-year-old boy went to the
concerts which his father conducted and became fascinated by all those bows
going up and down simultaneously. And how he was pushed by his parents to try
out all kinds of musical instruments, such as flute, piano, violin and oboe. In
the end, little Rieu chose the violin. Because of an atractive female teacher,
he says laughing.
He also says that the years he spent in the church choir of the St. Servaas Basilica, made a big impression on him. “The rays of sunlight that fell through the beautiful stained glass windows, the priests who swung the insence censer back and forth and the beautiful music. All the theatrical elements that I now use in my shows, I learned there”.
He also says that the years he spent in the church choir of the St. Servaas Basilica, made a big impression on him. “The rays of sunlight that fell through the beautiful stained glass windows, the priests who swung the insence censer back and forth and the beautiful music. All the theatrical elements that I now use in my shows, I learned there”.
Yellowed
photos
Many photos from the yellowed family albums pass by. André as a toddler, teenager and adolescent. Rieu speaks about his memories with presenter Charlotte Hawkins. About the first encounter with his wife Marjorie: "I was 11 and she 13"; the first performance of his Salon Orchestra in 1977; and ten years later the establishing of the Johann Strauss Orchestra and the big breakthrough with the album “From Holland With Love” (VHS tape) in the mid-nineties. And the blockbuster: Rieu’s version of The Second Waltz by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Did he expect that success, the female interviewer wants to know. So no. "I remember that the record company said we might maybe sell 25,000 copies. They turned out to be more than a million. Amazing!
The orchestra leader becomes emotional when the female interviewer asks about the Schönbrunn project in 2008. Rieu had the famous Viennese palace copied and reconstructed and went on tour with it. It almost led to his bankruptcy. The waltz king had to work so hard to pay off his debts that he almost lost everything. Tears appear in his eyes when his son Pierre says in front of the cameras that the entire family supported him in that difficult time. André Rieu: "They all said: "We love you no matter what happens, even if you stop”. "That gave me the strength to continue."
Many photos from the yellowed family albums pass by. André as a toddler, teenager and adolescent. Rieu speaks about his memories with presenter Charlotte Hawkins. About the first encounter with his wife Marjorie: "I was 11 and she 13"; the first performance of his Salon Orchestra in 1977; and ten years later the establishing of the Johann Strauss Orchestra and the big breakthrough with the album “From Holland With Love” (VHS tape) in the mid-nineties. And the blockbuster: Rieu’s version of The Second Waltz by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Did he expect that success, the female interviewer wants to know. So no. "I remember that the record company said we might maybe sell 25,000 copies. They turned out to be more than a million. Amazing!
The orchestra leader becomes emotional when the female interviewer asks about the Schönbrunn project in 2008. Rieu had the famous Viennese palace copied and reconstructed and went on tour with it. It almost led to his bankruptcy. The waltz king had to work so hard to pay off his debts that he almost lost everything. Tears appear in his eyes when his son Pierre says in front of the cameras that the entire family supported him in that difficult time. André Rieu: "They all said: "We love you no matter what happens, even if you stop”. "That gave me the strength to continue."
105
year old nun
For the film, the 70-year-old protagonist selected excerpts from his most beautiful concerts with the Johann Strauss Orchestra. We see impressive recordings of shows in New York, Melbourne, Vienna, Bucharest, Mexico City and - where else - Maastricht. On the Vrijthof we see Rieu dancing a waltz with Sister Leona, a 105-year-old nun, who passed away a few months ago. She was his biggest fan.
At the end of the 2.5 hour film Charlotte Hawkins
wants to know if Rieu is going to take it easier now that he has turned 70.
Rieu:
“And then sit at home doing nothing? I feel young. I am 70 years old and I
intend to turn 140. I am only halfway there. So you are not yet rid of
me".
We were so eager to see the cinema concert in British Columbia, Canada, however, winter weather came in and kept us from the 1 hour drive to the nearest venue. So sad to miss it.
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