How Andre Rieu Won My Heart by Laura Stevens
How Andre Rieu Won My Heart
Read the WSJ article by Laura Stevens
VIENNA -- Last weekend, watching balloons fall from the ceiling and sopranos hit the high notes during Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone," I couldn't help but smile. The electric atmosphere, with thousands of white-haired fans screaming "bravo," was contagious.
As a classically trained violinist, I'd been skeptical about André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. I've attended hundreds of classical music concerts, ballets and operas. From the Berlin Philharmonic's stunning precision to the Boston Pops' fun take on movie music to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's Fourth of July crowd pleaser, I'm always game for a good performance.
Read the WSJ article by Laura Stevens
Posted by WebMaster Sally at June 4, 2010 
Categories: ANDRE RIEU, 2010 Concerts, Articles-Interviews
Tags: Andre Rieu
Categories: ANDRE RIEU, 2010 Concerts, Articles-Interviews
Tags: Andre Rieu
Thanks for the article Sally. I read this one & the other one by John Jurgensen. Was neat to see that you had talked to him personally.These articles should make good publicity for Andre's American tour. One thing that was said about T-shirts & how we fans don't buy them as souvenirs. Well, I did buy one of his black ones, the simple one with his name in white. But really, there isn't much of a choice on those. some of the best ones are those the fans have made themselves. You name it, the fans have come up with bumper stickers, liscense plates, stamps & address labels. you name it. If a fan can think of it it's usually done. they are very creative. Anything to advertise Andre.
Hi Sally, thanks again for posting a great article. What do you think about the 'Mr. Rieu' reference? Greatly respected, I'd say!
xx
This is a very well thought out article that accurately describes, Andre, the orchestra, the music, & the effect they have on the audience
I really don't like what this Laura person has to say about Andre' there are more than silver haired people who attend Andre's concert, she gave no reflection at about The Magic of the occasion, or the brillance & quality of the perfomance; spit spit spit;
Hi Fay, you've gotta wonder about her age, all round experience and exposure when she says that the 'average' fan is her Grandparents age, that's not my observation, even though she says she is a Classically trained Violinist who has 'attended' hundreds of concerts. She didn't praise him up the way we would in terms of an entire Concert, but wasn't derogatory either. We all know that Andre doesn't give his Concerts to showcase 'only' his own musical talent; he showcases others of his choosing as well. At least from her headline, it seems Andre as 'won her heart.' Perhaps she's not as open minded as she states in her article about Classical music.
'Settle down Petal' xx
Overall, I think ahe gave a pretty positive review, she went with an open mind & was pleasently surpried & pleased with what she saw & heard.As for that "siver-haired" crowd, oh well, it just shows we have good taste! haha But to be honest, I have watched many opf the concerts & I've seen people of all ages enjoy the music.Maybe there are more of us silvers but who cares. this is one silver who loves a lot of different types of music anyway. Variety is the spice of life & i'm going out singing Hallelujah!
Absolutely right Shirley! It takes someone with good taste & perhaps age & experience on their side to introduce the younger generation to culture. The youngest have less of an attention span and lose interest if it's not fun as well. So I think the 'silver-haired' brigade (incl. Andre) is doing it's job well, as well as having a great time.