# Andre Rieu



## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

I am wondering what other people opinion on his music, style or approach. I think he has a certain degree of contribution of attracting non-classical music lovers to listen to classical music. Have you been to his concerts? There is no doubt about he has great marketing efforts in his concerts but what about substance? How do you compare others that are successful to lead people to listen to classical music?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I've only seen/heard Rieu on public television here in the USA. I've enjoyed the programs in the spirit in which they are conceived and presented--a bit of operetta or opera, plenty of Strauss, odds, ends. Hard to imagine a case that harm is done; easy to theorize that some interest in more serious music could result.


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

I remember watching him as a very young lad- maybe or 8 or 9 years- and enjoying him. 
My opinion of him now is quite different. I think that he is very cookie cutter and presents a very simple, watered-down version of the classical genre, with crowd-pleasing theatrics tossed in. I come away empty from his programs, since there's really nothing there for me. Seems to be a decent violinist, but the way he cuts pieces like Radetzky March and Light Cavalry Overture and dances like an idiot turns me off.
If you are not a serious classical listener and want a very lighthearted introduction to it, I guess he's fine. Experienced listeners beware.


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## Rhinotop (Jul 8, 2016)

This musician doesn't work for me.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I decided to reply to the OP's question as to whether Rieu attracted "non-classical music lovers to listen to classical music." It would be interesting to read other direct responses to the question.


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

I think the Rieu phenomenon is an interesting question as posed by OP. I've also seen him on public broadcasting and wasn't sure how to take these performances at first. He seems to be a "pop" classical version along the lines of Arthur Fiedler many years ago, and almost the Lawrence Welk of Europe (actually the Netherlands).

I guess there's value in attracting people who otherwise would have no interest in classical music. But I fear it encourages a somewhat superficial understanding of the art as just something to clap, dance, and sing along with. I remember when symphony performances were regularly broadcast on public TV, but it seems this is now about as deep as the public can accept. To me that's unfortunate. Not providing serious classical music over the air anymore just compounds the lack of appreciation. 

Maybe this is a snobbish attitude, I don't know. But people seem to love him, so who are we to question I suppose. Also interested in what others may think.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Well, I hate what he's doing musically but he's sincere - even megalomaniac - about what he's doing and not just in it for the money. He makes a lot of money as one of the best selling 'classical' performers worldwide but he just as easily invests (and looses) all this money in his next project.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

He is tapping into the demand for like classical music. It's not my taste but I do know I know an awful lot of people must enjoy it as sales boom. He is also giving employment to a good number of musicians. So good luck to the guy. Not my taste but I'm not going to be so snobbish as to say it's somehow wrong. Music is to be enjoyed and if people enjoy that and that is wonderful


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## BoggyB (May 6, 2016)

He's like Classic FM, in that he plays "best of" music that's enjoyable to people who aren't really classical music fans.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Richard8655 said:


> I guess there's value in attracting people who otherwise would have no interest in classical music. But I fear it encourages a somewhat superficial understanding of the art as just something to clap, dance, and sing along with. I remember when symphony performances were regularly broadcast on public TV, but it seems this is now about as deep as the public can accept. To me that's unfortunate. Not providing serious classical music over the air anymore just compounds the lack of appreciation.


Are we to "guess" that there is value in attracting people to classical music? Let's instead boldly assert that there is such value and await someone's attempt to rebut this obvious truth. Let's also discard the thinking that makes the perfect the enemy of the good: superficial understandings of the art are better than no understanding; glancing, fleeting contact is way better than no contact. I also remember when symphony performances were occasionally (never often enough) broadcast on public TV, but the fact that this is no longer true is hardly Rieu's fault--better a quarter of a loaf if we can't get half. Andre Rieu may be a symptom of something far larger going wrong, as orchestras struggle to fill halls and pay bills, but he's hardly the cause or a cause, and can be viewed more positively as a cheerful, hardy dandelion still growing as the orchids wilt and die around it. You and I don't have to "like" his music or presentation, but demonstrating that somehow he is retarding the cause of classical music in today's world is going to take a heap of nutty thinking.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Strange Magic said:


> I decided to reply to the OP's question as to whether Rieu attracted "non-classical music lovers to listen to classical music." It would be interesting to read other direct responses to the question.


This is what I am trying to do. Many listener like the ones on this board are series classical lovers. However, one has to start somewhere to start listening. Rieu provided a platform to start. Many call it "entry level", I call it a stepping stone. In other words, Rieu's value to classical music is established.


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## Metairie Road (Apr 30, 2014)

Would I buy one of his CD's? - No. Would I go to one of his concerts? - Yes. His mix of popular contemporary and classical music plus his good humor would make for a very pleasant evening.

I don't see Rieu as any kind of 'threat' to so-called serious classical music, he's simply one aspect of the musical spectrum, take him or leave him. He does what he does and he does it well.

The fact that one is more likely to see a Rieu concert on TV rather than a Beethoven or Shostokovich concert (I know they're dead, you know what I mean), is a separate and unrelated issue that has nothing to do with either Andre Rieu, Beethoven or Shostokovich.

Plus, he's Dutch, and I don't think the Dutch have pissed anyone off since the eighteenth century.

Best wishes
Metairie Road


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

I have no objection to Rieu - he doesn't do anything for me, but then he's not supposed to.

I'm curious though, if there's solid evidence regarding the extent to which he attracts people to classical music _generally_, rather than simply capturing a particular audience that likes his light-classical formula and doesn't want to go further. Do any - and if so, how many? - Rieu fans move on to "the hard stuff"?

I myself started off interested in the more populist side of classical, but what attracted me even then was the great variety, something that AFAIW isn't a feature of a Rieu concert, so I don't think he'd have ever had much appeal for me.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

If only the classical world could attract a fifth of his audience and revenue stream, all orgainizations and record companies would be on solid ground. Rieu's concert earnings are ridiculous. But I suppose people being people, most of them go for the cheese filled stylings of an Andre Rieu. So I doubt many are running out to hear a Mahler symphony after attending a Rieu concert. I can't believe a 65 year old violinist with 80s metal hair playing psuedo classical lite swill is that popular, so go figure?

Okay, he does play some "real classical". But I can't stand that ballroom Strauss stuff with women wearing 80 pound gowns and twinkling their fake eyelashes.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

starthrower said:


> Okay, he does play some "real classical". But I can't stand that ballroom Strauss stuff with women wearing 80 pound gowns and twinkling their fake eyelashes.


That's the best part! But, as many will attest who read my posts, I have no taste (and am secretly glad of it). :lol:


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Question for opera experts: did the Three Tenors tours and CDs advance, retard, or were neutral in ensuring the health of opera? I don't know.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

starthrower said:


> If only the classical world could attract a fifth of his audience and revenue stream, all orgainizations and record companies would be on solid ground. Rieu's concert earnings are ridiculous. But I suppose people being people, most of them go for the cheese filled stylings of an Andre Rieu. So I doubt many are running out to hear a Mahler symphony after attending a Rieu concert. I can't believe a 65 year old violinist with 80s metal hair playing psuedo classical lite swill is that popular, so go figure?
> 
> Okay, he does play some "real classical". But I can't stand that ballroom Strauss stuff with women wearing 80 pound gowns and twinkling their fake eyelashes.


There is a dimension of 'Marketing'. Modern people are visuals (since the invention of TV), would it be visually appealing if they all wear black?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

pcnog11 said:


> There is a dimension of 'Marketing'. Modern people are visuals (since the invention of TV), would it be visually appealing if they all wear black?


I can't relate or comment on visuals because I'm interested in music. But I realize a lot of people don't really listen attentively. They are passive consumers.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Andre Rieu re-orchestrates the music of Johann Strauss. Brahms - a somewhat more distinguished musician than Rieu - praised Strauss's orchestration. I'm sorry Strauss can't sue.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Strange Magic said:


> Question for opera experts: did the Three Tenors tours and CDs advance, retard, or were neutral in ensuring the health of opera? I don't know.


We need to ask the opera companies. However, can we compare the 3 tenors and Andre Rieu side by side in terms of how they popularized classical music? Difficult to answer.....but why?


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2016)

post deleted xxxx


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Personally, I wouldn't go to a Rieu concert and wouldn't spend more than a few minutes of my life listening to his genre of 'light' music. However, if others want to, and they clearly do, the massed ranks of Sibelians and Mahlerites have no business telling them they shouldn't. If even 1% of his audience is prompted to experiment a bit and try some other 'classical' music, then that's good news surely?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

People might find this hard to believe, but fiends--monsters--took the immortal music of Alexander Borodin and made it into a Broadway musical, _Kismet_, with songs like This is My Beloved; Baubles, Bangles and Beads and Stranger in Paradise as the unclean fruit. The Horror! People signed petitions saying they never would listen to classical music if they knew that this was its foul spawn.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Not keen. I suppose he is good at what he performs but not my "cup of tea".


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Pat Fairlea said:


> If even 1% of his audience is prompted to experiment a bit and try some other 'classical' music, then that's good news surely?


I hope this 1% will graduate to become one of us.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I think it is fine to do what he does and if people enjoy it, great. But it is not my cup of tea, and I don't think he has any style.


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## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

Elsewhere on this Forum I likened Rieu to Florence Foster Jenkins, in terms of his value to music. 
Think I'll just stand by that opinion.


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## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

I listened to his Carmina Burana and was not impressed... Not one bit.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Metairie Road said:


> Would I buy one of his CD's? - No. Would I go to one of his concerts? - Yes. His mix of popular contemporary and classical music plus his good humor would make for a very pleasant evening.
> 
> I don't see Rieu as any kind of 'threat' to so-called serious classical music, he's simply one aspect of the musical spectrum, take him or leave him. He does what he does and he does it well.
> 
> ...


Hey Metairie, nice of you to say that about us Dutch but not entirely true. Being a small country we just don't **** far enough for it to be noticed by most of you (except for Rieu of course). We've been a leading nation in slave trade for a long time and just after WWII (from 1945 till 1949) we killed many Indonesian freedom fighters and innocent civilians in what we called 'police actions' (framing it to that to avoid the use of the word 'outright war'). Just 10 hours ago our government for the first time announced it wants to have 'structural violence' by Dutch military investigated. Now before they put the blame solely on these 18 till 20 year old boys we would also like to have investigated whose trade interests government was protecting at that time (apart from it's own).

PS. I see you cannot write **** without it being censored, so if you wonder what I wrote it is the four letter popular word for urinating.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

tdc said:


> I think it is fine to do what he does and if people enjoy it, great. But it is not my cup of tea, and I don't think he has any style.


Very good and polite reply! :tiphat:


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

I am completely neutral on the subject. I don't think he does any harm, and if he attracts a few people to classical music, that is fine. But not necessarily to listen to Mahler's symphonies: classical music is a broad church, and it is getting broader all the time.

Every generation seems to have people like Rieu - in my youth, it was Mantovani, who also had many detractors in the classical music world, but at least he put the Swedish Rhapsody on the map!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

No sooner had I opened up this thread for the first time when an advert for his latest album came on TV.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Andre Rieu is more an entertainer in the sense of a large crowd drawer with lights/action.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

ArtMusic said:


> Andre Rieu is more an entertainer in the sense of a large crowd drawer with lights/action.


This, plus a bit of a money maker.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

pcnog11 said:


> I hope this 1% will graduate to become one of us.


I know what you mean, but 'graduate' sounds like a bit of a value-judgement, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid in my comments on Rieu. I hope that 1% expand and diversify their musical interests and tastes, but would not want to imply that they were thereby 'advancing' in some way. To put it another way, if I were to develop a great love for Heavy Metal rock music (fact: this is not going to happen), would that be some kind of intellectual regression?


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

pcnog11 said:


> In other words, Rieu's value to classical music is established.


Is it? Sure, there is some guess-work and the presumption that this type of thing leads some people to 'serious' classical music but .... has anyone popped their head over the parapet yet and said 'Rieu was my starting point to active interest in classical music'?


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Pat Fairlea said:


> I know what you mean, but 'graduate' sounds like a bit of a value-judgement, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid in my comments on Rieu. I hope that 1% expand and diversify their musical interests and tastes, but would not want to imply that they were thereby 'advancing' in some way. To put it another way, if I were to develop a great love for Heavy Metal rock music (fact: this is not going to happen), would that be some kind of intellectual regression?


I think the word 'graduate' and 'advancement' can be used interchangeably. No one ever say listening to Heavy Metal is an intellectual regression. In fact, it could be another kind of 'advancement'. The point is that what every kind of music people listen to, there is a 'door' where the start their interest and develop the urge to learn more as they discover and appreciate the wealth and depth of the music. Andre Rieu could be one of those 'doors'.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Headphone Hermit said:


> Is it? Sure, there is some guess-work and the presumption that this type of thing leads some people to 'serious' classical music but .... has anyone popped their head over the parapet yet and said 'Rieu was my starting point to active interest in classical music'?


This may be carrying skepticism a bit too far. Nobody is going to spend the resources to actually determine the Rieu Effect--its breadth, its strength, how many have been brought into the fold. But surely the presumption must be that Rieu has encouraged some--_some_--few souls to broaden and deepen their familiarity with classical music. Or am I alone in a world gone mad?


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## Genoveva (Nov 9, 2010)

This isn't the first thread on Andre Rieu. There have been several previous ones going back to about 2009, and I can recall them all. Some were more interesting than others, and two in particular were quite turbulent, with some very amusing comments. This was against a background that one member in particular found Andre Rieu good value and got quite upset when certain other members lashed out with all manner of criticism such as "scum of the earth" and "what a bellend" etc.

With the passage of time several of the chief protagonists in those discussions have long since disappeared for one reason or another. Anyway, I've just a quick look through some of these old threads to remind myself of the "wisdom" that was passed around by previous generations of T-C members, and I stumbled across a very good, serious comment by member, Jhar26, who used to be a moderator here. He made the following comment at post #4 in the thread: "Is Andre Rieu good for classical music?" that was opened in February 2009.



Jhar26 said:


> I think that Andre Rieu is sort of to classical music what James Last is to popular music. I doubt whether people will start listening to 'real' classical music because of him. Most of his fans think that when they listen to Rieu that they are listening to the real thing already. I imagine that the typical Rieu fan's cd collection consists of a couple of albums from him, maybe one or two of James Last, a Frank Sinatra greatest hits, the three tenors concert, a Julio Iglesias album, the soundtrack from Mama Mia and maybe the four seasons from Vivaldi. Some of the music in their collection may be pretty good, or even very good - but overall the interests of these people don't fit the profile of someone on the verge of exploring the works of Bach or Mahler.
> 
> I'd just like to add that I don't regard 'light music' from Strauss, Lehar, Zeller or the rest of those guys as inferior music. It takes talent to write a good melody, a catchy tune and some of these composers had that gift in abundance.


This opinion neatly summarises my own on the matter, and conforms with my limited experience of people who like Andre Rieu.


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## rojaba (Nov 12, 2016)

Let's face it, as long as he sticks to Strauss I don't mind. It's not like the New Year's Concert in Vienna is all what it's made out to be in terms of "haute culture". You can field whatever star conductor you want in the Musikverein but the orchestra can by now fart those waltzes on their armpits, so it's not like Rieu is defiling anything void of a commercial spirit. So if he makes 1,000s of retired librarians happy during a special performance in front of some picturesque castle I'm all for it.

It DOES **** me off, however, if I see his CD being featured in the "classical music" section of a shop, or if the internet tells me "you may also like Andre Rieu".


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

What would Andre say if he read this thread?


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## rojaba (Nov 12, 2016)

pcnog11 said:


> What would Andre say if he read this thread?


I don't care what you sore snobs think, I'm rich beyond your wildest dreams


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The question we've been discussing is not whether you or I like Rieu, but rather whether somebody/anybody has been, as another poster said, brought into the fold and become more involved with our very special music here. Jhar26's post brings no actual light to this discussion; it's just the same world-weary dismissal that we've seen here many times before. But our experience and our common sense suggest to us that it is far more probable that some percentage probe more deeply into our special music than are repulsed by exposure to the Rieus of this world. I can remember Liberace on the Tube, candelabra and all, playing the Ritual Dance of Fire when I was a kid and thinking "that's a neat piece of music!" I asked my mother about it, and _El Amor Brujo_ soon appeared among the household disks.


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

I have a baroque album somewhere in the crates with a very young Rieu. Long before he became a self employed megastar, he played in various ensembles.
Will post picture if/when I find the elpee.

It could be quite fun, locking arms and waving to some Strauss waltzes at Vrijthof, Maastricht. Some alcoholic beverages at hand.
At least it would be something very different to how I normally enjoy music.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

rojaba said:


> I don't care what you sore snobs think, I'm rich beyond your wildest dreams


As if you are one of his children........


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

pcnog11 said:


> What would Andre say if he read this thread?


He doesn't give a ####, as long as the € rolling in......


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Strange Magic said:


> This may be carrying skepticism a bit too far. Nobody is going to spend the resources to actually determine the Rieu Effect--its breadth, its strength, how many have been brought into the fold. But surely the presumption must be that Rieu has encouraged some--_some_--few souls to broaden and deepen their familiarity with classical music. Or am I alone in a world gone mad?


I don't see this as scepticism - I am asking a genuine question. Nor did I ask for money or resources to be spent to 'determine' the Rieu Effect .... I merely asked has anyone said 'Rieu was my starting point to active interest in classical music'?

If your supposition is correct, there must be _ some souls for whom this will be the case_


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Pugg said:


> This, plus a bit of a money maker.


Yes I agree. I wonder how much money he makes. Must be a whole lot more than I ever will earn.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Headphone Hermit said:


> I don't see this as scepticism - I am asking a genuine question. Nor did I ask for money or resources to be spent to 'determine' the Rieu Effect .... I merely asked has anyone said 'Rieu was my starting point to active interest in classical music'?
> 
> If your supposition is correct, there must be _ some souls for whom this will be the case_


_

As I've indicated, there is every reason to believe my supposition is correct and no reason to suppose otherwise, unless experience and common sense have left us entirely--did you not see my analogous tale of being introduced to El Amor Brujo by seeing/hearing Liberace on TV?_


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

I was mistaken about that baroque album. The Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra was conducted by Andre Rieu senior, his father.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Jos said:


> I was mistaken about that baroque album. The Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra was conducted by Andre Rieu senior, his father.


But he was originally in the Maastricht salon orchestra, am I right?


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

I have nothing against Andre Rieu and I enjoyed watching his interpretation of _O Fortuna_ on YouTube. If his interpretations function as a jumping off point for people to explore classical music, then more power to that. I just can't see anything wrong with people enjoying classical music, even if it _is_ Andre Rieu.


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## Marinera (May 13, 2016)

I wouldn't mind to go to his concert on New Year's Eve for the reasonable price if there were such an option. Light festive enterntainment is what usually fits the bill on such occasions, though i prefer myself productions like ballets, musicals, operas and anything in between or at least with some singing in programme to purely instrumental concerts for New Year's celebrations. Though he has some dancers in his show especially if it's Strauss, like many other concerts with Strauss music.
My opinion is based only on the bits of his concerts I've seen occasionally on TV.


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

It's like too much sugar in the diet. As people consume it, they're no longer interested in more sophisticated healthy cuisine. It just so easily satisfies.


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## Marinera (May 13, 2016)

^
On festive occasions sugar is all I eat

Though in January some orchestras and venues often offer good discounts on concerts, at least that's what happened in previous years, so I can stuff myself cheaply with Mahler or whatever afterwards. Also very satisfying.


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

Marinera said:


> ^
> On festive occasions sugar is all I eat


At least you know when to go back to a healthy diet.


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## Marinera (May 13, 2016)

^
Yeah, there's that too :tiphat:


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## Genoveva (Nov 9, 2010)

Strange Magic said:


> As I've indicated, there is every reason to believe my supposition is correct and no reason to suppose otherwise, unless experience and common sense have left us entirely--did you not see my analogous tale of being introduced to _El Amor Brujo_ by seeing/hearing Liberace on TV?


I wonder whether you have considered the possibility that some people whose first exposure to classical music was an Andre Rieu CD/DVD may have been put off the genre as a result of the experience, whereas if they had listened to some other artist they might have felt encouraged to pursue classical music further.

Taking into account the possibility of such negative effects as well as any positive and neutral effects, my strong feeling is that any professional statistician tasked to construct some kind of survey/opinion poll to establish the net "Andre Rieu" effect in stimulating a longer lasting, more in-depth interest in classical music would say that it's most unlikely that it could be achieved with any reasonable degree of confidence.

In my opinion, there are so many other factors at work influencing a person's decision to pursue an interest in classical music that it would be virtually impossible to isolate just the effect of listening to Andre Rieu as a possible starting influence.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

@Genoveva: I agree with the difficulty of setting up a careful study of this burning question; also I previously observed that there seemed nobody interested enough to try. That's why, on my side of the discussion, I'm sticking with experience and common sense. As someone with coarse, proletarian tastes, I've always enjoyed the Rieu concerts I've seen on PBS. He, his group and soloists, and the audience seem also to be having a fine time, and that perceived attitude I find infectious .


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## Genoveva (Nov 9, 2010)

Strange Magic said:


> @Genoveva: I agree with the difficulty of setting up a careful study of this burning question; also I previously observed that there seemed nobody interested enough to try. That's why, on my side of the discussion, I'm sticking with experience and common sense. As someone with coarse, proletarian tastes, I've always enjoyed the Rieu concerts I've see on PBS. He, his group and soloists, and the audience seem also to be having a fine time, and that perceived attitude I find infectious .


I can recall several threads in the past raising the subject of "how did you first get into classical music?". I can't readily find any of them right now, but I'm sure that with a bit of digging around some of them will become apparent. They might be worth exploring, but to be frank from my recollection of those that I read through at the time I cannot recall any reference to Andre Rieu as a starting point. I don't doubt that some people may have been prompted to pursue a further search based on listening to this performer, and either overlooked or chose not to mention this factor for some reason. Mostly, it was a particular piece of music that they liked that prompted further pursuit, and I recall that Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was quite often referred to.

Incidentally, your reference to your parent's interest in Liberace prompted me to raise a query about him with one of my elderly family members. She too remembers his performances on TV in the mid-late 50s? I gather that he used to play on a grand piano with a candelebra on display, and always had a big smile on his face, playing all sorts of quasi-classical music that was catchy and melodious. She said that he would refer to his brother who appeared on the show too, and played some other instrument. She loved those programmes and looked forward each week to the next episode. It was her second-favourite TV show after "I Love Lucy". I'm afraid to say that she didn't acquire a bigger interest in classical music as a result of liking Liberace. But like your parents, some no doubt did, and it was passed on to you, which is splendid stuff.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Liberace was truly a phenomenon. He was _sui generis_, arising from invisibility and obscurity to become one of the most famous celebrities of his era. He successfully sued a British commentator who described Liberace as, if I remember it correctly, "the epitome of masculine, feminine, and neuter", among other things. But I remember him as do your elders, as the man alone in the studio, at the keyboard of a grand piano topped with the trademark chandelier, grinning hugely and tickling the ivories, and speaking in his softly intimate voice. And I do remember the Ritual Dance of Fire, which he seemed to like also, as he would often play it. While he never acknowledged his homosexuality, he was a gay icon for most of his career, dying of AIDS rather young. Only in America?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

As I mentioned, Rieu plays the music of J. Strauss in bastardized versions (at least he did when I heard him) while standing there with his violin as if he thought he was Strauss reincarnated. I find this intolerable. As one who got into classical music by way of the Strauss family, and absorbed at an early age the subtle sense of waltz rhythm - its variability of tempo, its rubato, and that wonderful lilting anticipation of the second beat - which only Viennese orchestras seem to understand (I can do it perfectly on the piano), I'm outraged when some friggende Hollander (sorry) reorchestrates and butchers my youthful idol and then pretends to be his rightful heir.

Rieu may have his virtues, but I have no interest in discovering them. If I want a waltz, a polka, or a quadrille, I want the real thing, _echt-Wien_.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2016)

You make it very clear that you have a heart.I have exactly the same views on mr Rieu,by the way,he is a lot worse in Beethoven than he is in Strauss.


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## Retrograde Inversion (Nov 27, 2016)

Why is Rieu abysmal ? Here's why:


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Retrograde Inversion said:


> Why is Rieu abysmal ? Here's why:


This piece from Rieu could misled a lot of non-classical music lover what Beethoven Ninth is all about. It make serious Beethoven fans furious! It trivialized Beethoven's music. However, could it be an 'entry level' piece that lead others to listen more to classical music? Certainly not this piece!


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The two preceding posts display a dismaying lack of imagination and of an ability to go beyond one's own parochial viewpoint. I will cheerfully affirm the obvious: that Rieu here "reworks" Beethoven to suit his own purposes such that LvB would be whirling in his grave to hear such claptrap. However, the Rieu-ized version still transmits enough of the ecstatic joyousness of the Beethoven such that the audience is ensnared, and, who knows, some tiny handful or perhaps more, upon learning or being reminded that they've heard (a version of the most famous part of) Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, might just go out and buy the CD. Is this such a crazy idea? By all means be personally appalled by Rieu's presumption and tastelessness--one has standards to uphold and it's important to be seen upholding them by one's peers, but let's show a gleam of recognition that some good might come from such "evil".


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Good point about imagination. Some are good, some are not as good.....the audience is the judge.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Andre Rieu - Shostakovich' Second Waltz





the crowds he is able to attract are pretty amazing, like a rock star


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Jacck said:


> Andre Rieu - Shostakovich' Second Waltz
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Of course, music for the millions they call this.


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