29 May 2010 Vienna Concert Report by RONEL
The morning we woke up and a warm sunny day in Vienna. We took the tram to the Schonbrunn Schloss where the Emperor stayed with his Sisi - visited the Hofburg Palace (both these two places Andre Rieu recorded dvd's - Schonbrunn and Live in Vienna) then went to the Stadtpark where the statues of world famous composers are - and also The Waltz King Johan Strauss. At about 5 o'clock we had Wiener Schnitzel and kartoffelsalat and Apfelstrudel (very traditional Viennese food) and got ready for the show. In thousands the people were walking to the Stadthalle and the atmosphere were so friendly and pleasant and the people around us all asked if we were from Holland - supposedly they heard us speaking Afrikaans and it is much alike of the Dutch language - and then they hear we are from South Africa - everyone is just filled with joy and then..............
The lights went dimn and bright and wow.......... 76 trombones and applause. They entered the hall in two isles and immediately the audience were on their feet and shouting and clapping. Kalki and Carmen and Laura Engel - also one of his choir girls - was the sopranists, and Gary and Bela and Thomas the tenors and the Viennese Staatsopera Childrend Choir together with Carmen Monarcha performed the Earth Song -
Carmen singing O Mio Babbino Caro
I have no words to explain the emotion in that performance and Laura Engel sang an Italian Love Song - the name I unfortunately do not have as the programmes were all sold out and I could not hear what Andre said the name of the song was. The performance of Laura left everyone speechless and all applause broke loose when she finished as she really sang it with so much passion.
The surprise he had in the hat for us, was the Berlin Comedian Harmonists who performed Veronika, Somewhere in the World and The Sailor's love - Stephanie Detry is such a darling as their pianist was playing the piano on their performance and then she stand next to him and asks if she can join, she is such a darling.
Andre mentioned that 30 years on stage, he has never been ill and so was none of his orchestra and at that point and time Manoe sneezes and Teun hands her a hankerchief, we were just laughing so much for all their games and fun.
His repertoire consist of:
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76 trombones
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Torna a Surriento
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Roses from the South (Rose aus dem Suden),
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Earth Song,
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Ben,
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Gold and Silver,
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Ole Guapa - with an enthusiastic Leon van Wijk & his accordian
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an outstanding performance by Carmen again with O mio babbino Caro (Oh my beloved Daddy),
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An der schonen blauen Donau,
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Hava Nagila,
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You'll never walk alone,
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La Danza,
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Non ti Scordardi me and VOILA!!!! he slaughtered the drum at Marcel Falize and Radetzky March made everybody off their seats - to the front and there to stay singing and dancing for about an hour on Strauss and Co, Slave Choir from Nabucco, Viva Espana, Wien, Wien, sols is de stadt meine traume, Lullaby, Amazing Grace (with Manoe and Teun), Brazil Symphony, and Adieu mein kleine Garde Offizier.
The Platin Tenors L to R (Gary Bennett, Bela Mavrak, Thomas Greuel)
Soprano Soloists L to R (Kalki Schrijvers, Laura Engel, Carmen Monarcha)
The Platin Tenors L to R (Gary Bennett, Bela Mavrak, Thomas Greuel)
Soprano Soloists L to R (Kalki Schrijvers, Laura Engel, Carmen Monarcha)
Still balloons were flying through the Stadthalle and people from Sweden and Luxemborg and us joined and danced and then we went to have a drink and met people from Kagelsfurt in the bar - having a beer and singing Gaudiamus Igitur, The drinking Song from the Student Prince, Es weir einmal, ein troy Rosan, Heut is der schonste tag in meine leben, Ich hab mein hertz in Heidelberg verloren, at that time it was almost two o'clock in the morning, and with our balloons we headed back to the hotel, singing in the streets of Vienna and Ludwig hopping on a bicycle and ended the day with Adieu mein Kleine Garde Offizier - an evening carved in memory with only joy and music and laughter forever.
Bill has added the photos of the musicians on the photo website All the 29 May 2010 photos begin with the photo of Alicja .
The photos that preceed Alicja are photos of my 29 Apr 2010 concert in South Africa
As the encores were playing and the people dancing in front of the stage, me and Ludwig held up a banner for Alicja to wish her a happy birthday as it was on the 28th of May - immediately Franco tapped her on the shoulder pointing to the banner, Andre smiled and looked at Alicja and at the end of the encores, Andre asked the JSO to stand up and Alicja stepped off and came right to the front of the stage and thanked me and Ludwig about three times for wishing her happy birthday. At that time I wished Ludwig or me could hop on stage next to her as it was as much a hightlight for us as it was for her. What an amazing woman she is to thank us in such a fantastic way.
Here I am, holding up the banner during the encores that prompted Alicja to come up to the front, front of the stage.
I was able to get a couple of good photos of Linda Custers Slakhorst (Viola) for Ludwig, who thinks she is the prettiest JSO musician.
I vow/promise/guarantee that when I attend my next concert I'll know all the musicians by sight & be able to speak to them using their first name, same as Bill
Frank, Lara, Agnes, Lin, Ruud, & Coline were all conspicuous by their absence & I was really hoping to get photos of each one.
Love & kisses,
Ronel
Posted by Moderator Bill AZ at June 7, 2010 
Categories: ANDRE RIEU, 2010 Concerts
Tags: Andre Rieu CONCERTS
Categories: ANDRE RIEU, 2010 Concerts
Tags: Andre Rieu CONCERTS
How lovely thank you for sharing your special night, I can almost feel your excitment WOW WOW;
This is wonderful!What a night you had & I am so glad you shared it with us.I think maybe the song that Laura sang might be Besame mucho, not sure about the spelling though. and then again, maybe not because I don't think that's Italian.Thank you Bill & Ronel for this great story.
Thank you Ronel, for giving us such an informative, enthusiastic, & well photographed concert report.
I have no doubt Alijca will always remember the 29 May 2010 concert in Vienna.
Hi!
Thanks for your report, Ronel. I share the same feelings with you because I was there too, in Vienna, 4º row center, just in front of the stage, a perfect location to see everything really near.
There were people from many places. I'm from Argentina but live in Spain now, which is very convenient to follow Andre in his European tours and that's what I do as often as I can.
I think there were people from all around the world and many of them, like me, went to Vienna just to attend this concert, like a lovely couple next to me that came from Canada to see him and they will be in his next concert in Toronto in a few days too.
I'd like to ad, as Shirley wrote, that the song Laura sang is not an Italian one, is from Center/South America. This kind of romantic songs are named "boleros" (there's no translation for this word) and yes, it was "Besame mucho", which means "Kiss Me a Lot".
Laura did a "lyric" version of this song, because usually the singers perform this type of popular music in a different way, more melodic, soft, tender and not so passionate. But she did it well. They all have little problems with the Spanish pronunciation but nothing terrible. I say "they" because I also noticed the same thing when the Platin Tenors sing "Granada".
And just another note: "Oh mio Bambino caro" can not be translated as "Oh, My Beloved Daddy". The meaning of the Italian words are completely different. In English would be "Oh, my Beloved Boy". Remember that this song is about a very young girl asking her father to let her see the young boy she loves. When he refuses to do that is when she kneels down and takes his hand begging for his permission, trying to convince him of her love for that young man.
Back to the concert, as in every Andre's presentation, the people enjoyed each second and it was wonderful. More than two and a half hours of pure joy.
My next "date" with Andre & the JSO is next month in Maastricht. I went for the first time last year and decided not to lose that again and go every year if I can do it, because the atmosphere there is UNIQUE. It's like a huge party with everybody singing, dancing, clapping, enjoying the whole concert and having fun in a magnificent open air scenario with the old buildings, churchs and towers around the Vrijthof Square.
The gift that Andre give us with his music and his way to present his concerts is superb, always perfect, but in Maastricht I think that the concerts are more than perfect if that's possible.
I'll tell you about that and the surprises that I'm sure he's preparing for his 8 concerts there.
Hugs & Love for all Andre's fans.
I forgot to say that the Berlin Comedian Harmonists were as good as always. I discovered thanks to Andre and are really great. I love his songs and the way they sing. Very very good artists.
Dear Patricia,
Thank you for your articulate & thoughtful concert report.
I've always thought how difficult the pronounciation of words in a different language must be. I only speak & understand English. Even if I was proficient in several languages, I doubt I'd notice the mispronounciations. Perhaps it just as well that I don't understand the words; the music is beautiful, the presentation & the music is what attracts me to Andre & the JSO.
Can we count on you for some photos & a concert report from your Maastricht concert?
If you take some good, high resolution photos I'll want to add them to the JSO photo website.
http://www.AttachNamesToFaces.com
Are you familiar enough with the individual musicians to call to them by their first names?
Dear Bill,
Of course I'll take my camera with me and send my own report and photos from Maastricht to share with all you.
I already did it when I was in Toulouse 2 years ago and some other place I didn't remember right now.
And yes, I know the musicians because I saw them a lot of times at home watching DVDs or live, but not enough to call all of them by their first names except a few ones, like the singers or Cord (violin), Frank (violin, carillon), Lin (violin); Manoe (of course!), Rene (trumpet), Nöel (french horn), Sanne, Ruud and the man who is always besides Manoe (I mean the person that gets the gifts the audience gives to Andre, like flowers or other presents; Andre always passes everything to him). There's another girl, a blonde one, short hair, who plays violoncello and is usually at the right side of the stage if you watch from the front side; she's always smiling and is a very nice person but I can't remember her name.
The link you put is very good and helpful. I looked before to see if I could see the names of these 2 people I know by their faces but I didn't find them there. I'm sure you'll know about them.
And about the pronunciations, it was just a comment because I'm a Spanish native speaking so I always catch the little problems when singers, any singer not only Andre's singers, use phonetics techniques to try to perform something in a language they don't know.
But it's all right. As you said, the beautiful music, the presentation, the lights, the atmosphere are the really important things. And Andre's concerts are superb in every little detail of each little thing, so ... Let's enjoy that pleasure.
Hugs,
Pat
Patricia, I thought you might be the same one who wrote the Toulouse report. I really enjoyed it too. I was intrigued that the city was called Villa Rose. The people who live in Europe are very fortunate to be able to attend all those great Andre concerts. I have attended many different types of concerts, here in the US, but none compare with an Andre Rieu concert. He is extraordinaire. Would love to hear about your time in Maastricht. That's got to be like one gigantic party, all over the square.
Hi Shirley
Yes, I was the same Patricia that sent the Toulouse report and some pictures.
The city is called Villa Rose because most of the old buildings are painted in a very special kind of pink or rose, but not the usual colour as we know it, I don't know how describe it, it's very special.
I spend a lot of time and money following Andre from city to city as often as I can, but I don't complain about that because it's a pleasure and you're right, here in Europe it's easy to go anywhere because of the short distance between countries and cities, the low cost flights, etc. So I did the trip to Vienna just for the week-end, the same when I saw Andre in Paris -that was the concert with the Vienna Palace decoration, the fountains, the dancers and everything, and it was a wonderful perform to see.
I loved Maastrich when I visited the city for the first time last year, it's absolutely gorgeous, and of course the concert was extraordinary.
That's why I decided to go again next July. I'll send my report and pictures, I promise.
I don't understand Dutch but it doesn't matter. As you say, it's a big big party plenty of joy and fun all over the square and more, because there are people behind the walls they put to keep the whole area apart. And they stay there because they can't watch but they listen and sing and dance too.
So, be prepared because I will tell everything about Maastricht.
Love,
Pat
Hi Ronel Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful experience with us. I am going to my first Andre Concert at the O2 London in September.I am hoping that people will sing clap and get up and dance, I do so want to. But unfortunately we British are known for being rather reserved. However I think when Andre gets into full swing people won't be able to resist
You answered one question I was wondering about which is whether there are programmes to buy . I wondered this as I would like to plan which pieces to video and photograph as my camera won't cope with the whole show
Thanks again. Like all other Andre fans I think he is absolutely superb x
To: Patricia
The person that gets the gifts handed to Andre is Teun Ramaekers (Flute/Piccolo)
The blond viola player is Linda Custers Slakhorst . Ronel took a great photo of Linda that is now on the photo website.
We will eagerly look forward to your concert report & photos.
Send photos along with your report to Sally, Jeanine, or me. We'll get the report published in short order.
I'm going to send you an email with some "SEARCH" instructions that will help you find musicians on the photo website
Bill in Arizona
Hi, Bill
Thank you for tell me the names of the musicians.
I received your email with some instructions and be sure I'll follow them to help myself with the names of the others musicians I know by their faces.
Of course, I'll send the report and the pictures to Sally, Jeanine & you, just in case.
Thanks again and we'll keep in touch.
Patricia
I have just discovered this site and enjoyed reading the report on the Vienna concert by Ronel as my husband and I were there too. We are the couple Patricia refers to, from Canada, and she was so friendly and lovely to talk with. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole music choice, but I especially liked the Tango "Ole Guapa," "Ben," and the Berlin Comedian Harmonists, not forgetting the encores. We had the best time, with the best seats we've ever had, a very special evening. Four days and we will be at the Toronto concert and we had such a good time in Vienna that we have booked again for next year's Schonbrunn concert in July, will you be there Patricia?