As the king of the waltz, André Rieu has been delighting his audience for decades: classical music with an orchestra, energetically staged and rousingly performed, attracts a diverse audience to his concerts. The world star from the Netherlands brings classical music to the big stage and tickets for his shows sell out quickly.
André Rieu was born on October 1, 1948 in Maastricht in the Netherlands. His father is a conductor. He grew up with three sisters and two brothers in a musical household. The great artist still lives in the city of his birth, but travels the world on his tours.
André Rieu was born with a love of classical music
< p> The Rieu family's household is dominated by classical music and little André began violin lessons at the tender age of five. Between the sounds of operas, chamber music and symphonies, however, the boy initially found it difficult to learn to play the violin - because he was in love with his violin teacher. However, the young musician's great talent soon became apparent.
In 1974, André Rieu was accepted at the Brussels Conservatory, where André Gertier taught him. The talented violinist graduated in 1977 with the Premier Prix award. In 1978 he became a father for the first time and founded his own orchestra in the same year: the Maastricht Salonorchester performed first in the Netherlands, but soon also in Germany and the USA. At the same time, André Rieu also plays the violin in the Limburg Symphony Orchestra.
The exceptionally talented classical musician felt the desire to make classical music accessible to a wider audience at an early age. Since then, André Rieu and his orchestra have brought classical pieces to stages outside of theaters and opera houses with joie de vivre and lightness.
Classical music for a wide audience
Yes in the late 1970s, André Rieu and his salon orchestra began to focus on entertainment within the framework of classical sounds. Through a performance in the German "Musikantenstadl" this concept also became known beyond the borders of the Netherlands and sold-out tours followed. With every tour, André Rieu can also delight people who don't normally go to the opera with his interpretations of classical masterpieces.
In this way, the artist succeeds in conveying the dusty and stiff image of classical music break up and transform the pieces into rousing performances. It is not uncommon for people to find access to the music of Johann Strauss and other classical composers after an André Rieu show. Accompanied by 50 to 60 musicians, the star violinist guides you through the program in an approachable and humorous way - and offers a lot of entertainment in addition to the music.
André Rieu and his shows are consistently successful< /h3>
More than 40 million recordings, countless gold and platinum awards, as well as numerous prizes: these successes clearly show that André Rieu's cheerful and open-minded nature and his accessible interpretations of classical music works appeal to both a broad audience and professionals Critics are convincing.
The musician regularly releases a new album and is on tour almost continuously. His great love for the waltz earned him the nickname "King of the Waltz", although his work is much more multifaceted and also includes arrangements of Schlager and pop music.
André Rieu is still with us today happily married to his first wife, whom he met at the tender age of 13. Two children and meanwhile also several grandchildren ensure a zest for life in the private life of the star violinist: This is probably one of the reasons why André Rieu, with verve and talent, keeps getting a broad audience to dance and sing to classical music.
