André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (, ; born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known as the founder of the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.
Rieu and his orchestra tour worldwide, often playing in stadiums. He resides in his native Maastricht, where he also regularly performs at the Vrijthof.
Early life and education The name Rieu is of French Huguenot origin, though both of Rieu's parents were Catholic. André was born to Andries Antonie Rieu and is the third of six children.
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, although he found his parents strict and moved away from his father's musical style in adulthood. 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.
Personal life He married Marjorie Kochmann in 1975. She has been a language teacher and has written compositions. They have two sons, including Pierre, a producer who frequently works with the Johann Strauss Orchestra. He lives in a small castle in Maastricht, which he alleges was once inhabited by Charles de Batz Castlemore-d'Artagnan.
He speaks six languages: Dutch, English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.https://www.yours.co.uk/leisure/celebrity-tv/andre-rieu/ His net worth was estimated at €25 million in 2016.
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.
Rieu and his orchestra have appeared throughout Europe, North and South America, Japan, and Australia, and New Zealand. 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.
+ Recent world tour results in Billboard / Pollstar annual worldwide top tours lists Year Rank No. of shows Revenue Source 2010 #16 86 shows $39,992,285 Billboard Top 25 Tours 2010 2011 # 9 102 shows $67,104,756 Billboard Top 25 Tours 2011 2012 #10 99 shows $46,785,710 Billboard Top 25 Tours 2012 2013 #20 70 shows $49,881,605 Billboard Top 25 Tours 2013 2014 #17 70 shows $42,983,266 Billboard Top 25 Tours 2014 2015 #20 101 shows $51,151,367 Billboard Top 25 Tours 2015 2016 #23 71 shows $40,169,471 Billboard Top 25 Tours 2016 2017 #42 89 shows $47,700,000 Pollstar Top 100 Worldwide Tours 2018 #21 71 shows $55,933,149 Billboard 2018 Top 25 Tours
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.
Rieu also composed music for the 2014 film Tuscan Wedding.
Reception
Australia Australia has one of Rieu's largest fanbases. 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".
Eamon Kelly wrote in The Australian newspaper: "It is disappointing to see professional journalists indulging in cheap, inaccurate stereotypes to dismiss criticism of Rieu." 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."
By December 2008, Rieu had achieved his 100th platinum accreditation in Australia 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.
United Kingdom Tom Service, reviewing a film of one of Rieu's Maastricht concerts (the highest-grossing concert film in British history upon the article's publication in 2015) in The Guardian, described the performance as the "very acme of commodified classical music", saying that Rieu turned "unsuspecting masterpieces" into "saccharine fodder". Also in The Guardian, in an interview with Rieu, Alfred Hickling stated that Rieu's critics were "missing the point", comparing Rieu's showmanship and business acumen to that of Johann Strauss II.
United States Nina Siegal, for the New York Times, described Rieu as a "maestro for the masses, if not the critics", comparing him to Liberace while noting that his fame in the US had not reached the levels it has in Europe, Australia, and Brazil. In an email interview with Siegal, Rieu remarked that he saw frequent criticism of his act as "schmaltzy" as a compliment: "I’m trying to create a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ where music, décor and costumes all add up to a magical evening."
Regarding a 2017 concert in the Moda Center, Dean Paton for the Christian Science Monitor said that Rieu's performance felt "more like a pop concert than a classical recital" and a "two-hour running gag punctuated by this waltz or that aria." Paton compared the accessibility and popularity of Rieu's work to Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops and Leonard Bernstein of the New York Philharmonic.
Honours CountryDateAppointmentRibbonNotesKingdom of the Netherlands2002Knight of the Order of the Netherlands LionProvince of Limburg, Kingdom of the Netherlands2009Honorary Medal of the Province of LimburgFrench Republic2009Knight of the Order of the Arts and the LettersCity of Maastricht, Kingdom of the Netherlands2010Medal of Honor from the City of MaastrichtRepublic of Austria2011Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Kingdom of Bahrain2023Member 1st Class of the Order of BahrainRepublic of Chile2024Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit
Selected discography Albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications NLD AUSAustralian chart peaks: Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 13 June 1988: Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Silver Bells: GER NZ SWI UK Serenata (with Maastricht Salon Orchestra) Released: 1984 Label: Philips (412 322–1) - - - - - - La Belle Epoque (with Maastricht Salon Orchestra) Released: 1985 Label: Philips (824 717-1) - - - - - - Eine Kleine Salonmusik (with Maastricht Salon Orchestra) Released: 1987 Label: Philips (830 971–1) - - - - - - Hieringe Biete (with Maastricht Salon Orchestra) Released: 1989 Label: Marlstone Recordings BV (098904) 22 - - - - - Strauß Gala/ Strauss Gala (with Johann Strauss Orchestra) Released: 1989 Label: Marlstone Recordings BV (098917) 9 - - - - - Preuvenemint / Vrijthofconcert (with Maastricht Salon Orchestra) Released: 1991 Label: Mirasound (299079) 71 - - - - - D'n Blauwen Aovond (with Maastricht Salon Orchestra) Released: 1992 Label: CNR Records (100.385-2) 16 - - - - - Merry Christmas Released: 1992 Label: CNR Records (100.396-2) 34 - - - - - NVPI: Gold The Second Waltz Released: 1994 Label: - - - - - - NVPI: Gold Strauß & Co / Strauss & Co (with Johann Strauss Orchestra) Released: September 1994 Label: Mercury (522 933–2) 1 82 4 - 20 - NL: 700,000 NVPI: 7× Platinum BVMI: Platinum Hieringe Biete 1 & 2 (with Maastricht Salon Orchestra) Released: December 1994 Label: 7 - - - - - Vienesse Blend Released: September 1995 Label: - - - - - - NVPI: 2× Platinum Straus Gala Released: 1995 Label: ) - - - - - - NVPI: Gold Het Beste Van André Rieu 'Live''' | Released: May 1995 Label: CNR Music (2002305) | 48 || - || - || - || - || -
! scope="row"| Wiener Melange / The Vienna I Love (with Johann Strauss Orchestra) | Released: November 1995 Label: Mercury (528 786–2) | 1 || - || 19 || - || - || -
BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| En Concert / In Concert| Released: October 1996 Label: Mercury (534 266–2) | 5 || - || - || - || - || -
BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| Silent Nights | Released: 1997 Label:
NVPI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| Stille Nacht / The Christmas I Love / Mein Weihnachtstraum| Released: November 1997 Label: Mercury (536 104–2) | 18 || - || 6 || - || - || -
NVPI: Gold BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| Romantique / Romantic Moments | Released: October 1998 Label: Polydor (557 914–2) | 19 || - || 6 || - || 17 || -
NVPI: Gold BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| 100 Jahre Strauß / 100 Years of Strauss | Released: April 1999 Label: Polydor (547 456–2) | 13 || - || 3 || - || 3 || -
BVMI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| Das Jahrtausendfest / Fiesta! | Released: November 1999 Label: Polydor (543 069–2) | 9 || - || 3 || - || 8 || -
NVPI: Gold BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| Celebration (with Johann Strauss Orchestra) | Released: April 2000 | - || - || - || - || - || 50
! scope="row"| La Vie est Belle | Released: October 2000 Label: Polydor (549 227–2) | 15 || - || 6 || 17 || 12 || -
NVPI: Gold BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| To Dream | Released: 2001 Label:
NVPI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| The Collection | Released: June 2001 Label: Polydor (589 051–2)
BPI: Silver |- ! scope="row"| Musik Zum Träumen / Dromen / Dreaming | Released: October 2001 Label: Polydor (589 306–2) | 8 || - || 7 || 25 || 13 || -
BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| Walzertraum | Released: October 2002 | - || - || 8 || - || 35 || -
BVMI: Platinum |- ! scope="row"| Tour D'Amour / Love Around the World | Released: November 2002 Label: Polydor (065 260–2) | 11 || - || - || 38 || - || -
NVPI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| Die Welt Der Violine - Ein Himmel Voller Geige | Released: 2003 Label: Universal Music (060249809938)
! scope="row"| Croisière Romantique / Romantic Paradise| Released: October 2003 Label: Philips (065 261–2) | 10 || - || 6 || - || 24 || -
BVMI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| Live At Royal Albert Hall | Released: 2003 (US) Label: Denon (COZ 17192)
! scope="row"| Live in Dublin| Released: 2003 (US) Label: Denon (COZ 17293)
! scope="row"| At the Movies | Released: March 2004 (US) Label: Denon (COZ 17348)
! scope="row"| Tuscany | Released: September 2004 (US) Label: Denon (COZ 17431)
! scope="row"| Der Fliegende Holländer / The Flying Dutchman | Released: October 2004 Label: Polydor (9868113) | 38 || - || 17 || - || 27 || -
BVMI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| Aus Meinem Herzen / Songs from My Heart (with The Johann Strauss Orchestra) | Released: September 2005 Label: Polydor (9834207) | 33 || - || 26 || - || 56 || -
NVPI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| Weihnachten Rund um die Welt / Christmas Around the World| Released: December 2005 Label: Polydor/Universal Music (060249874707 0) | 60 || - || 20 || - || 34 || -
! scope="row"| Love Songs | Released: 2006 (US) Label: Denon (COZ 17600)
! scope="row"| The Homecoming | Released: 2006 (US) Label: Denon (COZ 17613)
! scope="row"| New York Memories| Released: October 2006 Label: Polydor/Universal Music (060249844387 3) | 24 || 86 || 13 || - || 51 || -
! scope="row"| The André Experience| Released: September 2007 Label: Philips (5318267)
! scope="row"| André Rieu in Wonderland // Im Wunderland| Released: November 2007 Label: Universal Music (060251749533 3) | 29 || 72 || 14 || - || 62 || -
NVPI: Gold |- ! scope="row"| The 100 Most Beautiful Melodies | Released: March 2008 (Australia/ NZ) Label: Universal Music Australia (4800849) Note: 6×CD set | - || 2 || - || 38 || - || -
ARIA: Gold |- ! scope="row"| Waltzing Matilda (with Mirusia Louwerse) |