André Rieu

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André Rieu (born 1949 in Maastricht, Netherlands) is a Dutch violinist and conductor. He is famous for creating an international revival in waltz music and for his many top selling recordings with his "Johann Strauss Orchestra."

1 Early Life and Career
2 Johann Strauss Orchestra
3 Personal Life
4 Partial discography
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Early Life and Career

Rieu began studying violin at age five. He was raised in a large musical family and his father was a conductor. From an early age he developed a fascination with the orchestra. He studied violin at the music academy in Liège and in the Conservatorium Maastricht, (1968–1973). His teachers included Jo Juda and Herman Krebbers. From 1974 to 1977, he attended the music academy in Brussels, studying with André Gertler. At the academy, he won the Premier Prix.

Rieu was exposed to nothing but classical orchestral music until university where he performed the "Gold And Silver" waltz by Franz Lehár. He was impressed by the audience reaction to the waltz music and decided to pursue the waltz form. He formed the Maastricht Salon Orchestra and performed as a violinist with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. In 1987, he created the "Johann Strauss Orchestra" and his own production company. Since then, his melodramatic stage performances, rock-star-style demeanor, and long, wavy hair have helped reinvigorate the waltz-music category.

[edit] Johann Strauss Orchestra

The orchestra began in 1987 with twelve members but now performs with over forty and up to fifty musicians. At the same time that the orchestra first toured Europe, there emerged a renewed interest in waltz music. This revival was mostly in the Netherlands and was ignited by their recording of the "Second Waltz" from Shostakovich's Jazz Suites. As a result, Rieu became known as "The King Of Waltz."

Rieu and the "Johann Strauss Orchestra" have performed throughout Europe, in North America, and Japan. They have won a number of awards including two World Music Awards and have recordings that have gone gold and platinum in many countries around the world, including 8-times platinum in the Netherlands. Rieu records from his own recording studio a wide range of classical music as well as popular and folk music plus music from famous motion picture sound tracks and theater musicals. His lively and colorful orchestral presentations have been able to attract audiences that may not initially be drawn to classical music.

André Rieu concert in Piazza Della Republica in Cortona, Italy

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Rieu worked together with his brother, Jean Philippe, for several years, but Jean Philippe has now started his own production company. Rieu's son, Pierre, still works with him. André Rieu plays on a 1667 Stradivarius violin. Some of his orchestra's performances have been broadcast in the United Kingdom and the United States on the PBS television network such as the 2003 airing of Andre Rieu - Live In Dublin, filmed in Dublin, Ireland, and 2005's André Rieu - Live In Tuscany filmed in the Piazza Della Republica in the village of Cortona in Tuscany, Italy.