Music
o r t s The mae of the masses
Thomas Myler traces the life and extraordinary success of Andre Rieu He’s been called ‘The maestro of the masses’, ‘A weapon of mass happiness’ by the Spectator and simply ‘The Waltz King’ by most other sources but Andre Rieu waves his hands dismissively. ‘All I do is play good music which the fans seem to like and that brings joy to us on stage too,’ he says with a smile. ‘My orchestra is a happy orchestra.’
artiste in the world, outselling the likes of global rock and pop artistes such as U2, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Buble. In May 2022, after several postponements due to the Covid epidemic, Andre brings his 60-piece Johann Strauss orchestra to Ireland for four concerts – three at the 3 Arena, Dublin and one at the SSE Arena, Belfast.
shows, he has been bringing his blend of music to the masses for over 50 years now so he reckons he must be doing something right. He has given classical music a whole new lease of life Andre claims that music has magical and healing powers. He sees it all the time at his concerts – laughter, kissing, joyful weeping. He even sees miracles.
The Dutchman has already been named bv the influential US music magazine Billboard as the most successful touring
With an eclectic mix of waltz, classical arias, operatic pieces, popular tunes, evergreen melodies and songs from the
‘You know I’m so proud when I’m on stage and I see all these happy faces,’ he says. ‘That’s what makes me happy. We come
Senior Times l September - October 2021 l www.seniortimes.ie 5
