Rieu News is slow right now, but once in awhile a new photo pops up! :)

André Rieu on Tietjen and Hirschhausen August 23, '13

 ► André on German Television Today
► Click HERE to Watch Now With ENGLISH Subtitles!

A VIP Visit To André Rieu's Castle in Maastricht

Jill's VIP Visit To André's Castle

My VIP visit to Andre's castle, but where do I start? ... It was a beautiful afternoon, hot sunshine and azure blue skies when we left the reception of the Kruisheren Hotel and climbed into two coaches to visit  'De Torentjes' the beautiful PR home of André Rieu! After a short trip through leafy lanes, we arrived with a buzz of great excitement and walked the steep incline to those magical wrought iron gates normally tightly closed to the public! We were ushered in and Pierre jumped onto a bench and gave us a warm welcome and a short introduction about the castle. He asked us if we had any questions, before leaving us to browse leisurely and soak up the atmosphere whilst moving from room to room; which had much ancient history along with momentous from previous world tours, which really gave you a glimpse in life in the fast lane:  ► The costumes and shoes were delightful and brought the music flooding back with memories of times they were worn and the songs each lady was singing! ► The Dining Room was stunning and you could picture the Christmas Advent Calendar immediately as you recognized objects: the huge table and chairs, and grand fireplace welcoming the guests. ► The Bull was amusing. I think he must have been the one from the show where the bull chased a lady in red! All around throughout there are beautiful paintings created by his son Marc. Two expressive portraits of André and Marjorie command prime place in a beautiful mirrored room with gilded frames and decoration. In the cosy lounge I sank into one of the soft leather chairs, almost fearing I wouldn't be able to rise from it again; these Dutch people have such long legs! In a glass cabinet there are numerous trophies and awards that have been awarded to André and his JSO over the years. They made a formidable show and are displayed with intense pride and humility. On our visit through the kitchen we were offered a variety of tasty canapes including salmon, cream cheese and others, with a choice of drinks to refresh us, as it was a very hot afternoon.These we enjoyed in the garden sitting on the steps and watching the world go by! Along the back terrace that leads up to St Peter's Church (in the Christmas at Home DVD), André is still having extensive work done; it is grading down into terraces at the moment, but no doubt his master plan will have something exciting and exquisite to reveal to us in the future. The outside of the castle has had extensive repair work to the roof and walls, as the stone gradually is eroding. It is a never ending maintenance job! The Orangery is beautiful with lovely colored glass panels which throw pretty colors in the sunlight. In front there is a channeled pond in which there are some huge (I believe) Koi carps of colorful orange hue swimming lazily in the clear cool water. A three tier waterfall feature adds a lovely trickling sound to the peaceful courtyard. You can imagine André relaxing here away from the hustle and bustle of touring. His own paradise, away from the demands and strains of being famous and everyone wanting a little piece of him. All too soon our time was over and we made our way back to the coaches and hotel; quiet and thoughtful after our wonderful experience. Later we had our meal and we were entertained by the Maastricht Salon Orchestra. Each table was serenaded by the violinist: a touching experience. Eventually we were back on the Vrijthof awaiting the start of the concert. I was seated in the front row so had an excellent place.The concert was fantastic. I actually was there for all six concerts in July and found them all fantastic. I can't wait for next year to come again! We returned to the Kruisheren Hotel and had a lovely gift from André of a Paperweight (limited edition and numbered) within an etching of his head and shoulders visible whichever way round you looked at it. Really lovely! And a note on the door handle wishing a Good Nights sleep and hoping we had enjoyed the day! Very very touching thought! As usual André pays attention to the smallest details! All in all a once in a life time experience, the only thing that could have made it better was if we could have met and shaken André's hand, or had a photo taken with him or autograph from him ............ Maybe one day!  Jill Baggaley (UK) ►Click HERE To See All of Jill's Photos Taken Inside André's Castle

Unknown Person Passing as André Rieu's Son

Two Articles Today in de Limburger of Rieu Going To North Pole

Deception: An unknown person has been passing him/herself as the son of the orchestra leader André Rieu for the last two years.

 Maastricht Limburger, by Casper Cillekens: Pierre Rieu, son of the Maastricht orchestra leader André Rieu has for the past two years been bothered by a person claiming to be Pierre Rieu. A florist received an order to deliver flowers for the concert series on the Vrijthof. "He called: Where is my money? He had already started to deliver the flowers." According to Pierre Rieu, his father’s spokesperson, has experienced where people have been promised free concert tickets for the Vrijthof Concerts. "It is very troublesome when people approach us for these promises." Whether it is one and the same person, is not quite clear. This person is using a Rieu group mailing address. "We know the origin of the mail, but I will not disclose that." Pierre Rieu and the ANP (General Dutch News Agency) are keeping each other informed during their investigation of the "fake-Rieu." The ANP received a mail on Wednesday evening about the fact that André would perform a concert next year on the North Pole. Such a plan Rieu had been launched in 2009. Since the ANP found the mail and telephone explanation of the "so-called" Pierre Rieu credible, the press office put the story on the net. But that was withdrawn yesterday. "So far we have seen no reason to file a complaint," says Pierre Rieu.

Second Article in de Limburger Today by Casper Cillekens

Message from the ANP news agency about the alleged concert by the Maastricht orchestra leader was "very credible."

"André Rieu would still like to go to the North Pole"

A web site would be erected where interested people come Monday could register for André Rieu’s North Pole concert to take place next year. The price for a ticket: 35 thousand. It all seemed fake.

Quite cunning. That is what Johan Groeneveld, deputy editor of the ANP, said about the manner in which an unknown person mislead the news office about the concert which the Maastricht orchestra leader André Rieu would perform next year August 18th on the North Pole. The e-mail which we received had a return address of communications@andrerieu.com. The telephone number displayed on the e-mail also reflected to be from Rieu Productions. When the on-call editor started checking the facts, she was called by a person stating he was Pierre Rieu. He sounded convincing, knew a lot of details and spoke with a Limburg accent. He called back one more time. To ask whether we had all the information. It was a plausible story. It sounded believable." The ANP placed the information about the North Pole concert on the net around one on Thursday morning. That also automatically landed on the web sites of many news media, including this news agency. Yesterday morning when our news media had called Pierre Rieu, son and spokes person of the orchestra leader, it appeared to be a joke. "We stepped into that one" sighed Groeneveld. "The ANP receives information several times a week which does not seem to be valid. Our standard is that we check everything. Sometimes we leave information received during the evening until the next morning. Again, in this case it was very believable. I myself would have placed this information." 

The information about the concert did not completely drop out of the sky. André Rieu had back in 2009 indicated that a North Pole concert would be performed, in order to bring awareness to the melting of the ice cap. It was, says Pierre as an addition, the intention to use ice-breakers in order to go to the North Pole. But since in 2009 there were only two dilapidated Russian ice breakers available, André Rieu placed that idea in the "ice box" (Back burner) "The damaged which would have been created by these ships, would possibly be greater than the attention you were trying to generate." "Very annoying that something like this has happened," sighs Pierre." But who knows: maybe this fake news might regenerate the idea. Maybe a wealthy sponsor might want to stick some money into it. We have not given up on the idea. A plus of course is that organizations like WWF and Greenpeace agree with us. If it happens to become reality, we will take one couple from each country of the world directly to the center of the North Pole."

Thank You to John for finding these tonight and translating them.

André: It is much too cold on the North Pole!

André: It is much too cold on the North Pole

RTL Aug. 8th: Violinist and conductor André Rieu always likes for his concerts to become better and go farther. This morning the Dutch media reported en masse that this time he would be going to the North Pole. Anyway you probably know the joke that André Rieu did go to the North Pole.

Well, he did not. The news that Rieu would go to the North Pole was sent out to the world by some prankster. 

"This morning I heard about it from my son Pierre We had toyed with this idea it but it has not been discussed for many years," André told RTL Boulevard. 

This plan has long been tabled since the Arctic is much too cold according to André.

Whoever told the world this story is unknown to the violinist and he is not happy about it. "It's annoying, to say the least. I am on holiday now and having to explain this to everyone was not in my plans."

Thank You to John for the quick translation on this! 

FUN Harmony Parlor Birthday Cards from Alice!

Today is the Harmony Parlor's Birthday and Alice has made a little present for all the fans ... Thank You Alice!!!

►Click HERE To See All TEN Twitter Post Cards She Made!

Happy "Sixth" Birthday To The Harmony Parlor! 

With many thanks from John and Sue