Andre Rieu - The Maestro!
November, 2008
WW - Celebrity
Violinist André Rieu is taking the world by storm, gathering fans and accolades with his richly flamboyant concerts that are about making classical music exciting. Suellen Dainty is invited inside his spectacular castle.
André Rieu is a happy man - and with good reason. He loves his work and he loves his family. When he plays his beloved Strauss waltzes on his 1667 (actually 1731) Stradivarius violin, he is blissful. So are the audiences who flock to his performances and the adoring fans who buy millions of his recordings. And the members of his orchestra are so happy they rarely leave or get sick.
In Maastricht, the ancient Dutch city of churches and treaties, André is master of all he surveys and one can see quite a bit from his walled compound looking down on the river Maas. There's his home, out of bounds to the prying eyes of journalists, where he lives with his wife of 33 years, Marjorie. There's his nearby studio, the house where one of his sons lives and towering over them all, is the medieval castle, the headquarters of his musical empire. Everything is perfect and everything - from the fleet of Mercedes in the garage to the meticulously reconstructed orangery in the castle courtyard - belongs to him.
He speaks perfect English (and seven other languages) and is polite, charming and considerate of our comfort, serving coffee and meringue torte. And he's relaxed - once he's made it clear things will be done his way. "no running around in here, okay," he scolds the photographer. "Not while I'm talking. I can't concentrate and focus on the interview."
Just 18 months ago, you might have been forgiven if you'd never heard of André Rieu, but not anymore. He is a musical phenomenon. In Australia, his titles have gone platinum 50 times over in the last 12 months and tickets to his concerts in November and December are flying out the door. Then there are the record-breaking sales - he passed the 1 million annual sales mark in April, with 15 of his titles making the Top 40 DVD charts in the past year alone, accounting for almost half of the total DVD sales. Worldwide, he's sold more than 27 million units, as they say in the music business.
These are figures to swell the head of any international rock star, but not André. He shrugs, he smiles. He always knew it was going to happen. In Europe, he's been a star for years. Each time he goes to the US and Canada, the audiences double. It was just a matter of time before Australia gathered him to its heart.
André laughs when asked how he feels about his huge success. Right now, Australia is his biggest market in the world. "It feels good, it feels great! I like Australia. They like me. It feels very European to me, with down-to-earth normal people and a nice atmosphere."
He doesn't care about some critics who snipe at the unabashed spectacle of his concerts (never call them shows), with their horse-drawn carriages, ballet dancers, ice skaters and flying angels. "I make music my way,", he says. "I have a classical music education. My father was a conductor of a symphony orchestra. More or less, all orchestras and all classical musicians go on stage and do their job. They seem to think it would be better if the audience wasn't there. From the beginning, from when I was a little boy, I didn't like that. I wanted to interact with people. That interaction makes me very happy, happier than when I'm doing things alone."
Freedom and happiness are the two words he uses most, perhaps because his childhood was anything but free and happy. The Rieu family house in Maastricht was a gloomy, inhibited place. His late father, also called André, was remote and fiercely strict with his six children. So was his mother, who is still alive. "There was huge pressure on me. My father was always pushing me. He was very dictatorial. What he said was law and we had to obey him without question. I wasn't close to him - scared perhaps. I just felt that I could never please him, that whatever I did wasn't good enough."
There is no resentment in his voice as he remembers his childhood. He shrugs and laughs at the aphorism that behind every successful man there is a little boy trying to please his parents. "People can say what they like. They can analyse me as much as they want. It's made me what I am. That education or mis-education formed me." It has also made him rich and famous beyond his father's dreams.
"When I was a little boy, there were always soloists coming to the house - Yehundi Menuhin, people like that. They would always come alone or with their wives and their wives would be carrying the violin cases. It's a lonely life and I always knew I didn't want that." The young André loved music and was considered a promising student. "But I always wanted to do it in a different way - my way - and I had to discover this slowly." It wasn't until he was 25 and met Marjorie, who was a friend of his older sister, that he dared leave home and marry her. "I said to my parents, okay, tonight I'm going to leave and I'm going to sleep with Marjorie'. That was a bombshell to them. I was the black sheep of the family. But I was so lucky to meet her. She has the marvelous combination of being very down to earth and also very artistic. I think she's the most special person in the world. There is no one like her."
Marjorie is nowhere to be seen, except in her portrait on the wall, which shows a smiling woman with curly hair and round spectacles. Nor does she travel with him outside Europe, because she doesn't like to fly long distances. Yet she is completely involved in his work, organising finances, overseeing their 60 full-time staff (all female, as André prefers them to be) and orchestrating the tours, which they promote themselves. They're rarely photographed together and never give joint interviews. Some say this is because he is more glamorous than his wife, but the truth is she doesn't want the attention and he doesn't need it. They have two sons, Marc, 30, who works outside the industry and Pierre, 27, who is his production manager. The family has always lived in Maastricht. "I love it here. It's my home." And their life together has centered on music. "I was always studying and never had any idea about making money. And Marjorie said 'well we are going to have our first child and how will we pay for everything?' "I needed that push"
Back then he was still playing in the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and the performing with a smaller salon orchestra. It later broke up and he formed his own 15-strong orchestra, playing Strauss and Lehar. It was the beginning of a career pattern that has remained constant. André plays his music his way, the musicians are happy and the audiences are delirious. The only change has been the rapid growth in his sales and the attitude of the record companies. "When I went to Universal (Music) 15 years ago, they laughed and told me to go home to Maastricht and play for my grandmother. Well, I'm not sexy or heavy metal. I'm certainly not the Spice Girls. But I begged them. I said, come to the concert and look at the audience and see what's happening." Finally, worn down by André's nagging, an executive agreed to see a concert only because he lives nearby. He signed André the next morning and so began the first of those staggering figures - that year, with his album called Not House but Strauss, he sold more records in Holland than Michael Jackson, who was then the hottest act on the planet.
For André's Australian tour there is, among other attractions, a full size replica of a Viennese palace, with gold chandeliers and fountains. There are 250 people dancing, singing, skating and playing bagpipes. And centre stage will be André in his navy tuxedo, his face magnified by giant screens on either side of the stage as he jokes and laughs with the audience, while his costumed and bewigged orchestra play on behind him. If everyone looks like they're enjoying themselves, it's probably because they are.
Offstage, enjoyment for André is reading. His favourite book is The Pursuit of Happiness by the English radical and philosopher Bertrand Russell. "I love this book. I admire Russell so much. He's so logical so brilliant that I have to read it and re-read it to understand it."
Yet this much is clear. André has applied one of Russell's most quoted sayings right at the centre of his life and work. It's the one that reads "The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy - I mean that if you are happy you will be good".
Note: I know this is an older article but I thought you would like to read it and the photos are great. It was sent to me from Australia a few weeks ago.
Posted by Moderator Jeanine Ann at August 14, 2009 
Categories: Australia, Articles-Interviews
Tags: News
Categories: Australia, Articles-Interviews
Tags: News
This may be an older article but it is an interesting article Jeanine Ann...and I'm happy you shared it.
I enjoyed reading it. Loved the pictures too.
This article sure gives you a little insight into André's background. It answers some questions and satisfies some curiosities too.
You know, André has such a fantastic attitude...I think I'll go out and buy that book "The Pursuit of Happiness". I had heard many times of my husband speaking of Bertrand Russell, so I know it must be a good book.
Happiness, if everyone on the planet could grasp happiness, wouldn't it be a beautiful world?
Thanks Jeanine Ann for putting this article here for us to enjoy, I know you worked very hard on it. I think you did a fantastic job.
Reply to this
Thank you Marlene. I am glad you enjoyed reading it. Every time I read something about Andre I learn things I did not know before, such as his favorite book. I would like to read that also. Hugs
Reply to this
What a nice interesting articles about André. More interesting information about him and I love the pictures.
Reply to this
HI JEANIE ANN, THAT ARTICLE WAS VERY INTERESTING AND THE PICTURES ARE GREAT. LOVE THE ARTICLE. THANKS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK. ELAINE BURCH.
Reply to this
hi this article is really good. and andre' really tells how it is. things are done his way. he is the boss. and his career is all done by hard work. and another thing andre' communicates with his fans and i love him for this.
Reply to this
I really enjoyed this article Jeannine Ann thanks so much for showing us.
Hugs Norma
Reply to this
This is an excellent article Jeanine Ann!
Reply to this