André Rieu

André Rieu at his concert in Cologne on January 2nd, 2010

André Rieu at his concert in Düsseldorf on January 10, 2009

Soprano Carmen Monarcha and André Rieu (2009)

Vrijthof square in Maastricht during the annual concert series in his hometown (2018)

Foot and hand prints by André Rieu for the Walk of Stars in the Vienna Gasometer

André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (born October 1, 1949 in Maastricht ) is a Dutch violinist , orchestra conductor , arranger and music producer . According to the sources, he has sold more than 40 million records in his career. The most successful release from André Rieu is the album Strauss & Co. with around three million units sold.

Life

Rieu was born in Maastricht. He comes from a family of musicians and grew up listening to classical music. His father André Rieu sen. (1917–1992) was chief conductor of the Limburgs Symfonie Orkest LSO , in which André jun. played as a violinist until 1989. He had his first violin lessons at the age of five, later he studied at the Conservatories of Liège and Maastricht and with the Hungarian violinist André Gertler in Brussels ; he took courses with Herman Krebbers .

His turn to salon music began in 1978 with his music ensemble "Het Maastrichts Salon Orkest", with which he became well known, especially in the Netherlands and in the German-Belgian border region. Some of his companions at the time remained in his ensemble for a long time. His first recordings come from this time.

Since the mid-1990s, Rieu has been traveling around the globe with his "Johann Strauss Orchestra" (approx. 60 musicians). Rieu has been playing a violin by Antonio Stradivari for several years , previously on a Guarnerius copy by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume . He owes his tours through Germany to appearances with Karl Moik in the Musikantenstadl, with whom he was close friends. In addition to the concerts on tour, Rieu usually produces specials with different pop sizes, which can be seen on television or available on DVD . His ensembles consist of soloists and singers.

In 2009, in addition to his usual concerts in large halls, Rieu also performed in stadiums around the world on his World Stadium Tour. To do this, he uses a backdrop of Schönbrunn Palace in approximately original size for the orchestra and show interludes, with everything being shown on large screens. The ballet of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Volksoper performed . An integral part of the concerts are performances by various guest artists, such as the platinum tenors , the Berlin Comedian Harmonists and the sopranos Carmen Monarcha and Mirusia Louwerse .

Rieu and his orchestra play classical pieces in popular arrangements and want to reach as wide an audience as possible through presentations and show effects. The classical repertoire is supplemented by orchestral versions of hits and pop songs such as B. the Chianti song "In addition to lighting effects, he also uses a lot of technology for sound amplification and coloring. The serious music- oriented critics consider his productions to be musically superficial, as Rieu uses well-known melodies from classical music to present them pleasantly.

What is striking about his performances is that, as the conductor of the "Johann Strauss Orchestra", he always plays with his violin and appears mostly turned towards the audience or the television cameras and thus does not actually conduct the orchestra at all. Johann Strauss Sohn already performed in this form as a standing violin in his day .

André Rieu is married. He and his wife Marjorie, whom he married while studying in 1975, have two sons, Marc (* 1978) and Pierre (* 1981).

He is the godfather of the Björn Steiger Foundation for the project "Rescue goes to school". He is also committed to helping patients with the rare genetic light intolerance erythropoietic protoporphyria . In 2015 he supported the Christmas gift campaign in the shoebox of the Association Gifts of Hope .

Companies

His company has a recording studio in Maastricht . It employs 120 permanent and many freelance workers and sub-contractors. The performances during the tours take place on a daily basis.

Our own transport and supply system with redundant equipment, stage construction, lighting and sound engineers and our own catering by several chefs, including a doctor accompanying them, enable the tight sequence. There are three musical instruments and stage structures in order to bridge transport times and delays, as well as the backdrop of Schönbrunn Palace in three copies. His wife and son Pierre (responsible for the stage construction) are involved in the company. His productions were directed by Pit Weyrich , from 2010 Lida Volleberg Huver, a Belgian director from Liège.

At the beginning of 2009 it became known that the holding of Rieu Productions was heavily indebted despite records in ticket sales and that instruments and stage equipment of the creditor Rabobank serve as a guarantee. The debt was overcome a year later.

With 554,242 tickets sold and a turnover of 57.4 million US dollars in the first half of 2009, André Rieu was number 4 on the hit list of the best-selling concert tours in the period.

Discography

Albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	NL
1993	Here offer	-	-	-	-	NL22 (7 weeks) NL	Maastricht's Salon Orkest olv André Rieu
1994	Strauss & Co.	DE4th platinum (103 weeks)DE	-	CH20th platinum (2 weeks)CH	-	NL1 × 7 Seven times platinum (88 weeks)NL	also available as VHS
	Merry Christmas	-	-	-	-	NL34 gold (8 weeks)NL
1995	Offer 1 & 2 here	-	-	-	-	NL7 (19 weeks) NL	Maastricht's Salon Orkest olv André Rieu
	D'n blauwen aovond	-	-	-	-	NL16 (10 weeks) NL
	Bouquet gala	DE63 (17 weeks) DE	-	-	-	NL9 gold (30 weeks)NL	Andre Rieu & Johann Strauss Orchestra; published in Germany in 1997
	Vrijthof Concert	-	-	-	-	NL71 (5 weeks) NL	Maastricht's Salon Orkest olv André Rieu
	Live - Het best van André Rieu	-	-	-	-	NL48 (19 weeks) NL
	Viennese melange	DE19th platinum (70 weeks)DE	-	CH- gold CH	-	NL1 × 2 Double platinum (44 weeks)NL	also available as VHS
1995	André Rieu in concert	DE20th platinum (66 weeks)DE	-	-	-	NL5 gold (20 weeks)NL
	Christmas carols	DE98 (1 week) DE	-	-	-	-
1997	My Christmas dream	DE6th platinum (10 weeks)DE	-	-	-	-	also available as DVD and VHS
	silent Night	-	-	-	-	NL18th gold (6 weeks)NL
1998	Romantic moments	DE6th platinum (36 weeks)DE	AT44 (5 weeks) AT	CH17th platinum (16 weeks)CH	-	NL19th gold (18 weeks)NL	also available as DVD and VHS
1999	100 years of Strauss	DE3 gold (29 weeks)DE	AT6 (12 weeks) AT	CH3 gold (10 weeks)CH	-	NL13 (23 weeks) NL	also available as DVD and VHS
	Fiesta! / The Millennium Festival / Celebration!	DE3 platinum (30 weeks)DE	AT30 (3 weeks) AT	CH8th platinum (21 weeks)CH	UK51 (3 weeks) UK	NL9 gold (22 weeks)NL	also available as VHS
2000	La vie est belle / Celebration	DE6th platinum (23 weeks)DE	AT15 (10 weeks) AT	CH12 gold (23 weeks)CH	-	NL15th gold (19 weeks)NL	also available as DVD and VHS
2001	Dromen / music to dream	DE7th platinum (16 weeks)DE	AT26 (12 weeks) AT	CH13 gold (12 weeks)CH	-	NL8th gold (23 weeks)NL	also available as DVD and VHS
2002	Tour d'amour / waltz dream	DE8th gold (17 weeks)DE	AT12 (20 weeks) AT	CH35 gold (11 weeks)CH	-	NL11 gold (21 weeks)NL	also available as DVD and VHS
2003	Romantic Paradise	DE6 (19 weeks) DE	AT12 (20 weeks) AT	CH24 (16 weeks) CH	-	NL10 (20 weeks) NL	also available as a limited edition and as a DVD
2004	The Flying Dutchman / Der Fliegende Holländer	DE17 (18 weeks) DE	AT21 (14 weeks) AT	CH27 (16 weeks) CH	-	NL38 (17 weeks) NL	Live recordings from a concert at Parkstad Stadium in Kerkrade are also available on DVD
2005	From my heart / Songs from My Heart	DE26 (17 weeks) DE	AT43 (5 weeks) AT	CH56 (12 weeks) CH	-	NL33 (22 weeks) NL	also available as a limited edition and as a DVD
	Christmas Around the World / Christmas Around the World	DE20 (5 weeks) DE	AT62 (2 weeks) AT	CH34 (5 weeks) CH	-	NL60 (1 week) NL	also available on DVD
2006	Andre Rieu at Schönbrunn	DE91 (1 week) DE	-	-	-	-	also available as Blu-Ray and DVD
	New York Memories	DE13 (14 weeks) DE	AT44 (4 weeks) AT	CH51 (10 weeks) CH	-	NL24 (24 weeks) NL	also available on DVD
2007	Andre Rieu in Wonderland / In Wonderland	DE14 (12 weeks) DE	-	CH62 (4 weeks) CH	-	NL29 (11 weeks) NL	also available on DVD
2008	Top 100	-	-	-	-	NL11 (47 weeks) NL	5-CD compilation
	I dance with you in the sky / Dancing Through the Skies / Passionnément	DE50 (11 weeks) DE	-	-	-	NL99 (1 week) NL	also available on DVD
2009	I lost my heart in Heidelberg / You'll Never Walk Alone	DE68 (6 weeks) DE	-	-	-	NL80 (2 weeks) NL	also available on DVD
	Forever Vienna	-	-	-	UK2 platinum (25 weeks)UK	-
	Live in Australia	-	-	-	-	NL97 (1 week) NL
2010	Dreaming / music to dream	-	-	-	UK94 silver (1 week)UK	-
	In concert	-	-	-	UK43 (2 weeks) UK	NL- platinum NL	Live CD, recorded at the Concertgebouw Haarlem
	Moonlight serenade	-	-	-	UK4th platinum (30 weeks)UK	NL100 (1 week) NL	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra
	Roses from the South / You Raise Me Up - Songs for Mum	DE78 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	UK38 silver (3 weeks)UK	-
	Always & Forever	-	-	-	-	NL34 (25 weeks) NL	André Rieu & Mirusia Louwerse
2011	Wiener Festwalzer / And the Waltz Goes On	-	AT74 (1 week) AT	-	UK7th gold (13 weeks)UK	NL63 (7 weeks) NL	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra
2012	Waltzing in Europe	-	-	-	UK63 (3 weeks) UK	-
	25 years of the Johann Strauss Orchestra / Magic of the Movies	DE31 (3 weeks) DE	-	-	UK2 platinum (28 weeks)UK	-	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra
	December Lights	-	-	-	UK53 silver (10 weeks)UK	NL24 (6 weeks) NL
2013	In love with Maastricht	-	-	-	UK53 (5 weeks) UK	-
	Rieu Royale	-	-	-	UK40 (16 weeks) UK	NL3 gold (17 weeks)NL
	Classic Album Selection	-	-	-	-	NL98 (1 week) NL
	André Rieu Celebrates Abba / Music of the Night	DE42 (9 weeks) DE	AT32 (4 weeks) AT	CH67 (7 weeks) CH	UK4th gold (12 weeks)UK	NL24 (11 weeks) NL
	Celebrates Christmas & New Year	-	-	-	UK91 (1 week) UK	-
	The Christmas Collection	-	-	-	-	NL92 (1 week) NL
2014	Love letters	-	-	-	UK35 (8 weeks) UK	-
	Magic of the Musicals	-	-	-	UK42 (5 weeks) UK	NL35 (5 weeks) NL
	Love in Venice / One night in Venice	DE50 (4 weeks) DE	-	CH98 (1 week) CH	UK4th gold (16 weeks)UK	NL15 (11 weeks) NL
	Best of Christmas	-	-	CH95 (3 weeks) CH	UK83 (2 weeks) UK	-	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra
2015	Magic of the violin	-	-	-	UK36 (7 weeks) UK	-	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra
	Roman Holiday / Arrivederci Roma	-	-	-	UK8th gold (10 weeks)UK	NL43 (6 weeks) NL	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra
2016	Magic of the Waltz	-	-	-	UK19 (5 weeks) UK	-
	Viva Olympia	-	-	-	UK42 (3 weeks) UK	-	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra
	Falling in love	-	-	-	UK7 (14 weeks) UK	-
2017	Amore	-	-	CH82 (3 weeks) CH	UK7th gold (12 weeks)UK	NL72 (1 week) NL
2018	Romantic Moments II	-	-	-	UK22 (7 weeks) UK	NL6 (4 weeks) NL
2019	A romantic summer night in Maastricht	DE79 (1 week) DE	-	-	-	-
	My Music - My World - The Very Best of	DE75 (1 week) DE	-	-	-	-
	Happy Days	DE60 (1 week) DE	-	CH82 (1 week) CH	UK6th silver (9 weeks)UK	NL26 (2 weeks) NL	André Rieu & His Johann Strauss Orchestra

More albums

• 1996: Barroco Clasico Primitivo - André Rieu conducts the Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra
• 1997: Gala Evening Vol.1
• 1998: Gala Evening Vol. 2
• 1998: double gold Andre Rieu
• 1998: Live Gala Evening
• 1999: Andre Rieu Live (NL:gold)
• 1999: Gala Edition
• 2001: Heaven full of violins
• 2001: The great live successes
• 2002: Christmas Waltz
• 2003: Andre Rieu - The Collectors Box
• 2004: D'n Blauwen Aovond
• 2004: Merry Christmas (NL:gold)
• 2005: Live (NL:gold)
• 2005: Vrijthofconcert
• 2006: On the beautiful Danube
• 2008: 100 Greatest Moments
• 2009: Christmas Classics
• 2009: Waltzes and folk songs
• 2009: Live: waltzes, folk songs + Christmas magic
• 2009: Christmas magic world
• 2014: Symphonic Maestro
• 2017: Amore

Singles

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		NL
1993	Here's an offer - Live	NL34 (3 weeks) NL	Maastricht's Salon Orkest olv André Rieu
1994	The Second Waltz	NL4 (28 weeks) NL	Waltz No. 2 from the suite for variety orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich
1995	Geen house maar bouquet	NL6 (10 weeks) NL
	Bouquet party	NL25 (3 weeks) NL

Video albums

• 2001: La vie est belle (Waldbühne Berlin - live concert)
• 2005: Andre Rieu: Golden Classics
• 2005: Andre Rieu: World Tour Concert
• 2007: Live at the Royal Albert Hall
• 2007: Andre Rieu: The Best of Live
• 2007: Andre Rieu: On His Way to New York
• 2008: The Best of Live
• 2008: Best Of
• 2008: Live in Maastricht II
• 2009: Live in Maastricht III
• 2009: Live in Heidelberg (I lost my heart in Heidelberg).
• 2010: Live in Maastricht IV (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
• 2010: Andre Rieu: Roses from the South
• 2011: Under The Stars - Live in Maastricht V (UK:platinum)
• 2011: And the Waltz goes On (Live in Vienna) (Blu-Ray)
• 2012: Live in Maastricht 2012 (25 years Johan Strauss Orchestra)

Awards for music sales

→ Main article : André Rieu / Awards for Music Sales

Country / Region	silver	gold	platinum	diamond	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Argentina (CAPIF)	-	gold1	3 × platinum3	-	106,000	capif.org.ar ( Memento from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) AR2 ( Memento from May 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Australia (ARIA)	-	14 × gold14th	100 × platinum100	-	1,667,500	aria.com.au
Belgium (BEA)	-	10 × gold10	3 × platinum3	-	400,000	ultratop.be
Brazil (PMB)	-	8 × gold8th	8 × platinum8th	-	360,000	pro-musicabr.org.br
Germany (BVMI)	-	2 × gold2	8 × platinum8th	-	4,000,000	musikindustrie.de
Europe (IFPI)	-	-	7 × platinum7th	-	(7,000,000)	ifpi.org ( Memento from January 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
France (SNEP)	-	11 × gold11	25 × platinum25th	diamond1	3,427,500	infodisc.fr snepmusique.com
Ireland (IRMA)	-	4 × gold4th	-	-	30,000	irishcharts.ie
Canada (MC)	-	7 × gold7th	3 × platinum3	-	155,000	musiccanada.com
New Zealand (RMNZ)	-	10 × gold10	30 × platinum30th	-	190,000	nztop40.co.nz NZ2 ( Memento from August 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Netherlands (NVPI)	-	15 × gold15th	10 × platinum10	-	1,615,000	nvpi.nl
Poland (ZPAV)	-	2 × gold2	-	-	20,000	bestsellery.zpav.pl
Portugal (AFP)	-	2 × gold2	11 × platinum11	-	144,000	Individual evidence
Switzerland (IFPI)	-	5 × gold5	4 × platinum4th	-	315,000	hitparade.ch
Spain (Promusicae)	-	-	3 × platinum3	-	300,000	promusicae.es ES2
United Kingdom (BPI)	7 × silver7th	17 × gold17th	12 × platinum12	-	2,645,000	bpi.co.uk
All in all	7 × silver7th	108 × gold108	227 × platinum227	diamond1

Artist awards

Rieu with the Charles Medal 2010

• Golden tuning fork 1998, 2003, 2005
• Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 2009
• Charles Medal for European Media 2010
• Gold Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria 2011
• Munich Olympic Walk of Stars 2004
• Golden Hen for Music 2001
• Appointed Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion in 2002

swell

1. ↑ Reinhold Beckmann: Guest Detail Info ( memento from December 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) on Reinhold Beckmann, accessed on December 3, 2015
2. ↑ Ann-Kathrin Nezik , Alexander Kühn: Millions of poodles can't be wrong In: Spiegel , March 10, 2017.
3. ^ Chianti song Andre Rieu. In: YT. March 23, 2016, accessed August 20, 2020 . 
4. ↑ epp.info: Vereniging voor EPP patiënten , accessed on April 3, 2014
5. ↑ Stefanie Rigling: "Christmas in a shoe box" with prominent support. In: schlagerplanet.com , October 28, 2015.
6. ↑ Wolfgang Quaas: Selected examples of corporate visions. (pdf) In: Documentation ProKul specialist conference. Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg , 2005, p. 13 , archived from the original on September 30, 2007 ; Retrieved August 20, 2012 . 
7. ↑ Hoge kijkcijfers voor real life soap Andre Rieu in Australie - Media Nieuws . Medianieuws.nl. Retrieved on September 26, 2010.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ "I had 34 million euros in debt" In: Hannoversche Allgemeine , December 28, 2013 (interview).
9. ↑ Thuringian General of September 4, 2009
10. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT UK NL albums NL singles

Web links

Commons : André Rieu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of André Rieu
• André Rieu in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Literature by and about André Rieu in the catalog of the German National Library