André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (; is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the
waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
-playing
Johann Strauss Orchestra
The Johann Strauss Orchestra is a pops orchestra founded in the Netherlands by André Rieu in 1987. The orchestra is well known for performing classical works with a distinctly unorthodox frivolity, joking with the audience and performing all s ...
.
Rieu and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act.
He resides in his native
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
.
Early life and family
The name Rieu is of French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
origin, though both of Rieu's parents were
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
.
André was born to Andries Antonie Rieu and is the third of six children. He has two older sisters (Teresia and Cilia), two younger brothers (Robert and Jean-Philippe), and a younger sister (Gaby Buirma-Rieu).
Rieu's father was conductor of the
Maastricht Symphony Orchestra. Showing early promise, André began studying violin at the age of five. From a very early age, he developed a fascination with orchestra. He studied violin at the
Conservatoire Royal in Liège and at the
Conservatorium Maastricht
The Maastricht Academy of Music, Dutch: ''Conservatorium Maastricht'', located in the city of Maastricht, is one of nine music academies in the Netherlands. The academy is a faculty of the Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool Zuyd in D ...
, (1968–1973), studying under
Jo Juda and
Herman Krebbers
Herman Krebbers (18 June 1923 – Tilburg 2 May 2018) was a Dutch violinist.
Born in Hengelo, Overijssel, Krebbers studied in Amsterdam with Oskar Back. He gave his first concert at age 10. In 1943, Krebbers debuted with the Royal Concert ...
.
From 1974 to 1977, he attended the Music Academy in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, studying with
André Gertler
André Gertler (26 July 1907 – 23 July 1998) was a Hungarian classical violinist and teacher.
Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (1940–1977), Professor at the Cologne Academy of Music (1954–1957), Professor at the College of Musi ...
. He completed his training with the distinction "Premier Prix" from the
Royal Conservatory of Brussels
The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...
.
He married Marjorie Kochmann in 1975.
She has been a language teacher and has written compositions. They have two sons, Marc and Pierre.
He speaks six languages: Dutch, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.
Career
Johann Strauss Orchestra
Rieu created the Johann Strauss Orchestra in 1987 and began with 12 members, giving its first concert on 1 January 1988. As of 2020, he performs with between 50 and 60 musicians. Rieu plays a 1667
Stradivarius
A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...
violin.
Rieu and his orchestra have appeared throughout Europe, North and South America, Japan, and Australia. In 2008, Rieu's tour featured a full-size reproduction of
Empress Sisi
Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898.
Elisabeth was ...
's Castle, the biggest stage to have gone on tour at that time.
;Recent world tour results in Billboard / Pollstar annual worldwide top tours lists
For two weeks in 2013, one of the channels of the
BSkyB
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
group,
Sky Arts 2
Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
in the UK, was renamed as ''Sky Arts Rieu''. Between 30 March and 14 April 2013 Sky Arts Rieu broadcast Rieu concerts and documentaries 24 hours per day.
Rieu also composed music for the 2014 film ''
Tuscan Wedding''.
Reception
Australia
Chris Boyd, a critic writing for Melbourne's ''
Herald Sun
The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...
'' newspaper, did not criticize his playing, but described Rieu's main stage function as "blarney and delegation."
Eamon Kelly wrote in ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper: "It is disappointing to see professional journalists indulging in cheap, inaccurate stereotypes to dismiss criticism of Rieu."
He also wrote: "Equally misguided are those who cursorily dismiss Rieu. Rieu's live and recorded performances have brought joy to millions of people. Few in his audiences are regular classical music attendees and it could be seen as promising that, via Rieu, they are listening to standards of the classical canon. The fact that Rieu's focus is on highly accessible, enjoyable repertoire is not an argument against his musical credentials."
By December 2008, Rieu had achieved his 100th platinum accreditation in Australia and by May 2011, Rieu had sold over $50 million worth of wholesale shipments of his CDs and DVDs in Australia and was the highest-selling music artist in the Australian market between 2006 and 2011.
Honours
* Knight of the
Order of the Netherlands Lion
The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands ( nl, De Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw, french: L'Ordre du Lion Néerlandais) is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on ...
(Netherlands, 2002)
* Honorary Medal of the
Province of Limburg (Netherlands, 2009)
* Knight of the
Order of the Arts and the Letters (France, 2009)
* Grand Decoration in Silver of the
Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...
(Austria, 2011)
Selected discography
Albums
Videos
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
André Rieu(official website)
André Rieu's Official Australian websiteAndré Rieu(C Music TV Biography)
*
The Magic of Andre Rieu André Rieuofficial channel on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rieu, Andre
1949 births
Living people
20th-century conductors (music)
20th-century classical violinists
20th-century Dutch musicians
20th-century Dutch male musicians
21st-century conductors (music)
21st-century classical violinists
21st-century Dutch musicians
21st-century male musicians
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Dutch classical violinists
Dutch conductors (music)
Dutch people of French descent
Easy listening musicians
Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Maastricht Academy of Music alumni
Male classical violinists
Male conductors (music)
Musicians from Maastricht
Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria