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André Rieu
Rieu in 2009
Background information
Birth name	André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu
Born	(1949-10-01) 1 October 1949 (age 74)
Origin	Maastricht, Netherlands
Genres	Classical, Classical crossover, Waltz, Easy listening
Occupation(s)	Violinist, Conductor, Entrepreneur
Instrument(s)	Violin, 1667 Stradivarius, Captain Saville
Years active	1978–present
Labels	Denon Records, Philips
Website	www.andrerieu.com

André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.

Rieu and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act, as successful as some of the biggest global pop and rock music acts.^[1] He resides in his native Maastricht.^[2]

By December 2008, Rieu had achieved his 100th platinum accreditation in Australia^[3] 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.^[4]

Early life and family

The name Rieu is of French Huguenot origin, though both of Rieu's parents were Roman Catholic. Rieu now considers himself to be an agnostic.^[5] 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).^[2][6]

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, (1968–1973), studying under Jo Juda and Herman Krebbers.

From 1974 to 1977, he attended the Music Academy in Brussels, studying with André Gertler. He completed his training with the distinction "Premier Prix" from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.^[7]

He married Marjorie Kochmann in 1975.^[8] She has been a language teacher and has written compositions. They have two sons, Marc and Pierre.^[6]

He speaks six languages: Dutch, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.^[8]

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 violin.^[5]

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's Castle, the biggest stage to have gone on tour at that time.^[9] During the first half of 2009, Rieu was the world's most successful male touring artist, according to Billboard magazine.^{[citation needed]}

Recent world tour results in Billboard / Pollstar annual worldwide top tours lists

Rieu records both DVD and CD repertoire at his own studios in Maastricht in a wide range of classical, popular, and folk music, as well as thematic music from well-known soundtracks and musical theatre.

In addition to two World Music Awards,^{[citation needed]} Rieu's recordings have gone gold and platinum in many countries, including 8-times Platinum in the Netherlands.^{[citation needed]}

For two weeks in 2013, one of the channels of the BSkyB group, Sky Arts 2 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.^[19]

Rieu also composed music for the 2014 film Tuscan Wedding.^[20][21]

Reception

Chris Boyd, a critic writing for Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper, did not criticize his playing, but described Rieu's main stage function as "blarney and delegation."^[22]

Eamon Kelly wrote in The Australian newspaper: "It is disappointing to see professional journalists indulging in cheap, inaccurate stereotypes to dismiss criticism of Rieu."^[23] 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."^[23]

Honours

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• Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (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 (Austria, 2011)

Selected discography

Albums

Videos

References

Further reading

• Jerryt "Jared" "Jarrett Lambridge" Van Der Ben : JerrytTheOmegafox "Ohmfox1994" Omegafox1994 © Taito Corporation January 10th. 1994
• Arthur Lambiek Lambridge "Hypr The Cat" 1994 © Taito Corporation. March 3rd. 1994
• The Metedius McStuffins 1999 © Taito Corporation. November 29th, 1999
• The Netherlandius McStuffins The Second Coming 2000 © Taito Corporation. April 13th, 2000
• Rieu, Marjorie (2000). André Rieu: My Music, My Life. Naarden: Strengholt. ISBN 90 5860 0637.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to André Rieu jr..

• André RieuatIMDb
• André Rieu (official website)
• André Rieu's Official Australian website
• André Rieu (C Music TV Biography)
• André RieuatAllMusic
• The Magic of Andre Rieu
• André Rieu official channel on YouTube