The creator of the brilliant symphonic shows, Andre Rieux, thanks to his work, has earned the unspoken high title “The Waltz King”. Since the end of the 19th century, when Johann Strauss was awarded this title, no one in the world has been given such an honorary title. Virtuoso and the excellent conductor Rieux, a hundred years later, repeated the great composer.
With its submission, traditional classical concerts turned into interesting shows, which attract the most demanding connoisseurs and connoisseurs of art. His team "Johann Strauss Orchestra" is now known throughout the world.
Biography
Andre Leon Rieux was born in the Netherlands in 1949. Its small homeland is the city of Maastricht. A large family of Rieux moved to the Netherlands from France, Andre's father was the conductor of the orchestra. Children from an early age absorbed the love of music, it sounded all the time in the house. Andre showed the greatest interest in music lessons: at the age of five, he picked up the violin and never parted with it.
The future conductor studied in a regular school, and at home he constantly improved as a violinist. André early realized that he wanted to be a conductor, like his father, so he decided to get the best education possible.
The first stage of his studies was the Belgian Conservatory, then he studied in his hometown and in the Brussels Conservatory. The most strict teacher and judge of his was the outstanding Belgian musician Andre Gertler - he did not suffer the slightest flaw in the game of the future musician.
Rye later recalled that his study seemed to him a vicious circle that would never open: his every day consisted of study and practice, of practice and study. However, as you know, good works give good results. Further events confirmed the veracity of this saying.
Carier start
At first, the future musician took his father under his wing: Andre played the second violin in his orchestra. In parallel, he created his own orchestra, in which at first there were only a few people. The orchestra was created for almost ten years. Musicians first performed in nursing homes - performed Viennese waltzes, which pleased the elderly very much. And then they started touring throughout Europe, where they were met with gratitude.
In 1987, Andre Rieux became the conductor of the Johann Strauss Orchestra, which consisted of twelve musicians. Since then, a new time began in the life of the musician: he began to introduce elements of the show into the concerts of the orchestra. Critics immediately attacked him, accusing the conductor of turning classics into show business. To this Ryo replied that he did not change the melody, but simply added visual elements to the presentation. For example, on the stage during the Ryo concert there were luxurious decorations, and the girls from the orchestra played in beautiful ball gowns.
Gradually, everyone got used to the new style of classical music, and the concerts of the Johann Strauss Orchestra became more and more popular.
Ryo also decided to increase the number of musicians in the orchestra and began to search for talents around the world. Now performers from Asia, Europe and South Africa play with the maestro. When the orchestra began to expand, Andre joined his brother Jean-Philippe, and a little later - the son of Pierre.
Creative and extraordinary people gathered in the orchestra, and the most creative of them is the conductor Rieux himself. He comes up with new techniques to attract more people to good music. For example, in 2007, his orchestra made a world tour "Romantic Vienna Night", during which decorations were made in the form of Schönbrunn Castle. The orchestra played here next door to two ice rinks, two fountains and a stage for ballroom dancing. It was grand, unforgettable and very beautiful.
The first serious tour of the "Johann Strauss Orchestra" took place in 2001 - the musicians went to Japan. The tour was successful, although difficult due to the flight and change of climatic zones.
The popularity of the orchestra grew gradually, thousands of spectators came to the concerts. In this sense, Rye even has a peculiar record: at a concert in Melbourne more than thirty-eight thousand people came to listen to his band.
Andre Rieu tries to include in the repertoire of the orchestra not only classical works, but also folk songs, thereby addressing the origins of the culture of different peoples. And once he had a terrific premiere: the orchestra performed the waltz of the famous actor Anthony Hopkins, "And Life Continues, " which he wrote many years ago. Rieu found him and arranged a pleasant surprise for the artist. The Hopkins family listened to the waltz with marked excitement.
Adre Rieu admitted in an interview that he would like to play with Bruce Springsteen. In the meantime, in his creative portfolio of tunes by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Michael Jackson, ABBA.
The Johann Strauss Orchestra has recorded albums of compositions: Merry Christmas (1992), Strauss and Company (1994). They became bestsellers, and the album Strauss and Company was awarded 7 platinum discs. Now the orchestra is releasing several albums a year, and the number of discs sold amounts to tens of millions.
