André Rieu: "I cry for Limburg"

 Accidental luck for the Maastricht waltz king?

André Rieu:

"I cry for Limburg"

De Telegraaf, by Harrie Nijen twilhaar

Perhaps it is luck by accident for André Rieu, who also had to cancel his annual concerts at the Maastricht Vrijthof this summer because of the corona pandemic. Because if the series of performances had gone ahead, the "King of the Waltz" would not been able to keep it dry due to the amount of rain water. "It is truly unprecedented what is now happening in 'my' Limburg."

André Rieu on his beloved Vrijthof: "This rain chaos touches my heart" 

For André Rieu (71) it is also almost uncomprehensable for the record amount of rain that has fallen in South Limburg in recent days. In 'his Maastricht' even 87.2 millimeters (3.43inches) of rain fell from the sky. Never before has so much rain fallen oin this burgundy city in one day!

For the maestro, who is not in Limburg at this time, it is a strange sensation that for the second year in a row he cannot receive thousands of fans during his summer concerts.

Basically if there had not been a pandemic, André would normally have performed with his Johann Strauss Orchestra yesterday and tonight on a packed Vrijthof.

The famous Maastricht square, which lies adjacent to the St. Servaas basilica, has been transformed into a large lake due to the amount of fallen rain. The adjacent catering establishments also have to deal with flooded cellars.

Shocked by the situation?

"I saw it yesterday morning, the Vrijthof, completely flooded. Unbelievable! If we had been allowed to play, the sun would definitely have shone and it would have been dry! That's how I think."

How do you mean?

"In the fifteen years that we have played on the Vrijthof every summer, we only had to deal with rain two nights. Normally it is wonderfully warm and the thousands of fans enjoy our music. In total, we have given one hundred summer concerts in Maastricht!''

"Now you see what happens when we don't play. Then there's trouble right away. In short, let us play from now on and then there will be no raindrop in the air."

It is a catastrophe for the Limburgers.

Absolutely. It's very dramatic. I wanted to point out that the weather around mid-July is always beautiful when we play. Unfortunately, the situation is totally different now and an unprecedented amount of rain has fallen. It is horrendous to see that many Limburger houses  have flooded and roads have become impassable.

Do you remember 1995 when things went wrong then too...

"This for me is the second time that such floods have happened. I remember in 1995 we had to deal with a huge amount of flooding too. That was already 25 years ago. That's when residents in Limburg and in the river area near Tiel (City north of Limburg in Gelderland) were being evacuated due to the flooding of the Maas and the Waal. Not much remained of the campground near my house. The rising Maaswater created an enormous chaos. Caravans (camping trailers) drifted away due to the current."

Are there related problems with your 16th-century castle-like house?

No, we are high up on the east side of the Sint-Pietersberg. The excess rainwater from there flows down. Hopefully my wife Marjorie and I will keep our feet dry."

You are still being bothered by the flooding!

"That's right. I and my orchestra are now in the studio recording a new album. A number of musicians who live in the vicinity of Valkenburg and Kerkrade cannot come to the studio due to the water chaos. I hope that, for all Limburgers, this will soon be over and there will be as little damage as possible."

Thanks to Ineke for this article and John's translation.