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Friday, June 1 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, June 9 at 12:00 p.m.,
Sunday, June 10 at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 12 at 9:30 p.m.
& Thursday, June 14 at 1:00 p.m.
Live in Tuscany
Filmed live in the Plaza de Republica in Cortona, Italy this spectacular show features the sumptuous Tuscan countryside, the historic town of Cortona, and Andre Rieu with his orchestra, chorus, and soloists.
Click here to get the DVD.

Saturday, June 2 at 7:00 p.m., Sunday, June 3 at 6:00 p.m.,
& Monday, June 4 at 8:00 p.m.
Radio City Music Hall: Live in New York
Taped at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, July 2006, Andre Rieu brings an outstanding group of guest stars and musical themes together for this special. Andre performs at Radio City Music Hall and is joined by the Harlem Gospel Choir, along with the Strauss Orchestra, and Andre's choir of special voices, for an all-out musical wonder. Viewers may remember little Akim Camara at three years old, playing a very little violin. He’s back, now age five, and will delight viewers with his incredible talent.
Click here to get the DVD.

Friday, June 8 at 9:00 p.m.
The Homecoming
Popular waltz king André Rieu and his Salon Orchestra play to an adoring hometown crowd on The Homecoming, recorded in concert in the Vrijthof, the central square of Maastricht, and broadcast on PBS. Rieu delights the 34,000-strong audience with his signature blend of light classics and pop standards, including the Overture to Carmen, "Memory" from Cats, and wrapping up with a set of charming numbers in honor of the violinist's native city.
Click here to get the DVD.

 

About Andre Rieu
A versatile violinist and spirited conductor, Andre Rieu capitalized on his classical music training and natural charisma to successfully recreate the uplifting atmosphere of the nineteenth-century Viennese dance halls for twentieth-century audiences worldwide. Rieu's unique classical style evolved around the notion that the audience must be involved in order to appreciate the music. Although the inspiration for his innovative musical presentations reached back over 100 years, his style was frequently categorized as "crossover" music because it combined the revered scores of the classical composers with a more informal performance atmosphere characteristic of popular music.

Rieu was born in Maastricht, Holland. His father conducted the Limburg Symphony Orchestra of Holland and the Leipzig Opera. Classical music permeated the Rieu household, and the Rieu children were well versed in the works of the great composers. Rieu and his numerous siblings were heavily involved in musical training. Each displayed some talent and learned to play an instrument. Rieu himself developed into an accomplished violinist. As his understanding and appreciation of music grew, he developed a special fondness for the rhythms of the great Viennese waltzes. The waltzes, he maintained, stirred his emotions and created euphoria, so it was natural that he would devote his career to that style of music.

During the late 1980s, Rieu recorded with a variety of instrumental groups of his own selection, among them the Maastricht Salon Orchestra. During those early years he engrossed himself in conducting music and playing his violin. He was shy on stage and conversed rarely with the audience. As a result his performances took the traditional bent that he disliked so much, yet Rieu continued his efforts to remove the emotional distance that alienated the audience from the music and from the musicians. In search of a resolution, Rieu turned to the tradition of Johann Strauss II who is universally acknowledged as the King of the Waltz. Strauss, a violinist like Rieu, habitually performed facing his public; he created a festive atmosphere for his listeners, and encouraged them to dance and to enjoy each waltz. During a 1996 interview with Scott Simon for National public Radio, Rieu called the waltz stehgeig, a slang term that describes when a piece of music is assimilated totally into the performance medium. Rieu restructured his own performances according to the Strauss prescription, and quickly met with success.

In 1996 Rieu toured throughout Europe, to Germany, France, and Austria. He released a new album, From Holland with Love, that held strong at the number one position on the Dutch music charts for a solid year. A music video was released, and the CD went platinum eight times, prior to its American release later in 1996.

Currently, Rieu is married and has two sons. The family lives in Holland,and it is there that Rieu recruits local talent for membership in the Johann Strauss Orchestra. He takes a personal approach to selecting the musicians; congeniality is the utmost priority; virtuoso musical skills are a plus.