André Rieu never wants to leave his castle

André Rieu Never Wants To Leave His Castle

By Johan Lok - Photos: Govert de Roos: For years André Rieu and his wife Marjorie have lived in a beautiful castle in Maastricht. Both their sons have since left their home, and that is often the time when parents decide to downsize. That is absolutely not the case for this successful violinist. He does not dare to think about leaving his castle.

"I had piano lesson here as a boy, and back then I already found it amazing"
  

"My home is my Castle" indicating a familiar expression that someone’s home is his little castle. In André’s case is this just the reverse. For years now he has been living in an old, but recently beautifully restored, castle, which overlooks the Maas (Meuse) in Maastricht. Proudly the violinist conducts a tour and poses in no less than 25 different rooms, such as for instance, the kitchen. Incidentally a very special kitchen; where at one time according to stories a very famous person sat at the table. None other than Charles de Batz de Castlemore, the Count of Artangan, who would have had his breakfast there the morning before he died during the siege of Maastricht in 1673. The actions of the Count would have been recorded by Alexander Dumas by which he later became known as D'Artagnan, the fourth and perhaps most famous of the famous musketeers. André Rieu is not quite sure whether the story is true or not, but it still is a good story. Currently André and his wife Marjorie occupy the castle. Both their sons have left, but obviously visit regularly with their families. Visits to which the violinist looks forward to with pleasure, because then he can again wrap his arms around his four grandchildren. Because of his touring with his 60 person Johann Strauss Orchestra, which leads him to all the corners of the world, he is often away from his grandchildren for a longer period of time.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

The beautiful castle in which André and Marjorie reside is named "Huis de Torentjes" (House the Turrets). It is situated on the east side of the Saint-Peter’s hill, in the former village of Sint Pieter, which now is a neighborhood of Maastricht. André is especially proud of his "Orangerie" (tropical greenhouse) which has been transformed by the violinist into a beautiful butterfly garden which also houses many unusual birds. "Spending my money on that gives me more satisfaction than for example driving around Maastricht in an expensive Ferrari" says the orchestra leader. In the past many musically performances had taken place in the castle, so in that aspect, this is the perfect place for André to reside in. On an exterior door there is even a fitting Latin text to be found: "Only people, who love the arts, are allowed to enter."

An inside look at André

As a young boy André did already visit the castle. During that time he was receiving piano lessons there. "I can remember it was dark and damp. I already knew then that later on I would want to live here." But the lessons did not last too long. "My piano teacher was awful, so I also hated that instrument the same time," he once said in an interview. "My violin teacher on the other hand was blond and she was very pretty. So I very much liked playing the violin."

I am going to be 120

When André bought the castle, lots needed to be done to it. He bought it in two separate transactions. When the second part became available, he decided to buy that too, so that the entire castle "De Torentjes" became his property. He then had a French developer renovate it.

"I still want to perform a concert on the moon"

André never wants to leave his castle. "I will only stop after I have given a concert on the moon with my orchestra. I made an agreement with Richard Branson that he will build a hotel on the moon and I will then give a concert there. It will be a while before that becomes a reality. But that does not matter, because I have always said that I live to be 120. And as long as I am alive, I will absolutely want to continue living here."

In the meantime André has already been married 38 years to Marjorie. The two met each other when he was 11 and she 13. But actually dating did not happen for another 11 years. So as the violinist, as a little boy already knew that later on he would live in a castle, so he already knew in school that Marjorie was the woman he would later marry. Marjorie has always been the lady in the background, who is almost never seen, but is indispensible to André. He still remembers the time very well when son Pierre was born. "That was at 2 o’clock in the morning. Seven hours later she asked for a telephone and her agenda and she was back to work. In that aspect, we are very much alike." Pierre, who is 32, is the younger of their two children. Son Marc is two years older. He is an artist, while Pierre is now is part of the management of the company Rieu.

Granddaughters

The two boys have up until now produced four grandchildren. Marc is father to son named Ivan, who is 4 and a three year old daughter, named Fleur. Pierre has twins born in 2008. The girls listen to the names Linde and Lieke. And to André’s great fortune, the twins like nothing better that to play the violin. They have been taking lessons since age three. Other than that, he lets them do their own thing, because he knows better than anyone else that, when you force children, it can all turn out wrong.

At some point, the violinist would like to do something special in the castle’s garden. He is thinking about a convent, where nuns could go to pray. He himself can spend hours in the orangery - just watching the butterflies, the birds, and the coy in the pond. According to André there is no nicer way to gain new energy.

Thank You to Ineke for sending this and to John for Translating it.

ANDRÉ RIEU November Chapeau Column

EXTRA
André Rieu BUSY

  MONTHS

Chapeau Magazine November: It is good thing that my fitness level is right at the top, and where I keep it every day, because it is going to be extra busy in the coming months. And all that, while we have just returned from an exciting and very successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. A very appreciative audience, and now we are already preparing for the next concert series. At the end of November, for the first time, a concert in Turkey (Istanbul) and then, almost the entire month of December we are on tour in England, Scotland and Ireland. I am really looking forward to those, because the English audience is very enthusiastic. The concerts are all nearly sold out and are usually conducted in large venues such as the Wembley Arena in London. "You can now not only use our web site to book tickets, but you can also book hotel overnights, city tours and many other cozy undertakings."

In January our huge tour through Germany starts, which will run until mid-February and then immediately afterwards we will go to France. We start each year with a new program New Year's Day in Cologne. In the past year we did a lot of extra television in Germany. Two years ago I had to cancel my entire tour because I was sick. So now I would like to show that we are all better again, and that we like to maintain our long and intensive relationship with the German public. In the first half of 2014 there are also a lot of new countries on the program such as Finland, Latvia and Poland. We are very curious as to how the responses there will be. Really exciting! The preparations for the Far East including China and Singapore are fully underway, and also again for South America, which now also includes Columbia, in addition to Chili, Brazil and Argentina.

Actually here at the castle, which is the heart of organization, there are always all sorts of projects and tours being planned. Sometimes a year in advance. It has to be; otherwise your planning cannot be as it is suppose to be. And in every country they have different needs. As an entrepreneur you have to be creative and I am pleased that our youngest son Pierre always comes up with new ideas. He has now started "André Rieu travel", especially for the Vrijthof concerts. You can now not only use our web site to book tickets but you can also book hotel overnights, city tours and many other cozy undertakings."

The concerts for Maastricht next year will undoubtedly be something very special, since it will already be the tenth time we perform there. While it started out to be just a onetime idea. Last summer’s concert has recently already been released on DVD under the title of "André Rieu and Friends" including all the guest artists who performed there: Jermaine Jackson, Trini Lopez, the Jostiband, Carlos Bueno, André van Duin and the young trumpeter Romano, which in the dark days of December can be a beautiful reminder of the summer.

Early in January we will play again close to home, in Hasselt. Rocco Granata will perform with us there, something I am very much looking forward to. I recently met him at the premiere of the film "Marina". He is a very nice man. I play his song with pleasure at every concert as an encore. Great music, full of Italian zest. The television series for Sky TV in England is currently running with many reactions. TROS has purchased the series so that shortly it will be seen here too. During the Christmas holidays the TROS will air our Christmas special again. I am very much looking forward to those days, at home around the Christmas tree with my wife, children and grandchildren. One does not need any more in order to remain happy.

André Rieu

Thank you to Ineke for sending this and to John for Translating it. 

20-21 Eva meets ... André Rieu

20-21 Eva meets ... André Rieu

"I am not a dictator"

Eva Jinek takes a stand, but does not mind contradiction.

"De Telegraaf"

I have been trying to prove my entire life that my father was wrong.

"Ha, no, I gave that up a long time ago. Otherwise I would be trying to make a point instead of doing what I want to. My father always told me that I would never amount to anything. He thought of me as a dreamer, a nitwit. Did he say so? Well, as a child you feel that. I was named after him, but when I did something wrong, my parents would say: "We are going to call you Leon – my second name – since you are not worthy to be called André." My father was a very domineering man: a good musician and director, and at home also a director. He placed enormous pressure on the family and my mother went along with it. I cannot say that I had a wonderful youth. We lived in a somewhat closed off world. Why was my father like that? No idea and I cannot crawl into his head either. He never experienced my huge breakthrough. Previously he’d never attended any of my performances. He always had more important things to do. Shortly before he passed away he only saw me perform once with my Johann Strauss Orchestra. Afterwards he wrote me a letter, stating I was very busy and I had been right all along. Do I still have that letter? Not that I am aware of."

If it had been any worse, I would have hung up my violin forever.
"That’s right. Doesn’t everyone like something else every now and then? I was about 23 years old and studying in Brussels at the conservatory. I lived in a single room, on the third floor, and had no idea which direction to take with my life. I definitely was very unhappy. Until I learned to know my wife Marjorie. From that moment on I really started to live. She saw me for whom I was, and let me dream. I had renounced my violin, and we had thought about opening a pizzeria. We were already fairly advanced in the plans – business plan, building – when we received our first menu cards. The most expensive item was "Pizza Paganini", because when you ordered it, I would come to your table and play Paganini. If I want to that so I thought, then I would have to continue practicing. So I picked up my violin again and have never stopped playing."

I am the best employer in the Netherlands.
"I think so. I am a conductor, but not a dictator. I am in charge, but a lot of input comes from my orchestra too. We never play the notes written down. That is the secret, which is why you feel and hear that it is my music. We deliberately play piano parts, never the score. Just the notes, and then I just make up something in my head. When we start to play in the studio, I say for instance: here only strings, no, now only brass, a little more from this, a little more from that ... My orchestra reacts flawlessly to me, and I can very well see on their faces when it all comes together. It is an absolute cooperation in which they feel rightfully so that we achieved it all together. More than half of my musicians have been with me for more than 25 years. Of course I am very proud of that fact. I do not believe in collective agreements or unions, I believe in an open relationship with the people with whom you work. I could not image having to discuss collective bargaining in the afternoon – a penny more here or there – and then to make music that same evening with those same people. I treat my people very well, better than anywhere else, and the only thing I ask from them in return is that they always give 100% when they are on stage. I do all the interviews myself. In the past I spoke at length with someone, but now I just let them play something for me, and if it is good, I give them a chance. After a week, you know the score. I once hired a Hungarian harpist, who in the first interview played very well. Later on it seemed she passed a lot of gas in the bus, ha, ha, - and proved to be a totally impossible person after all – so she was gone again after two weeks."

Every Limburger has an inferiority complex.
"Not at all, not in any Limburger. The Hollanders (from the provinces of North and South Holland) like you to believe that. I have to laugh at some of their remarks. "You are going all the way back to Limburg?" As if it was a completely different country. On the German TV you see newscasters for instance who speak Bavarian, and that to everyone is perfectly normal. In the Netherlands we instantly have an excuse or something, but to let someone from Friesland, Drenthe or Limburg read the news, that is totally impossible. That, I do not agree with. It should be a good reflection of the entire Netherlands."

I hate snobs.
I do not hate anybody, but snobs are annoying. I can smell them 10 miles away. They are not there to support you either. And to like André Rieu, is not allowed. For a few years now, you are allowed to like André van Duin because the quality news paper "NRC trade paper" printed an article in which they liked him. Snobs indeed. Whether it would be nice to be degraded by these snobs? Of course not. How many of them are there? I recently performed in Mexico and Marjorie texted me that the Dutch ambassador would also be in the venue. The house was packed, ten thousand people who went crazy. I immediately noticed him and his entourage when I stepped on stage. An entourage which astonishingly looked around itself with an expression of: What in the world did we get ourselves into? Afterwards, I was at the catering, and sure enough, there he was. I told him that I had immediately picked him out of the crowd. I am a little ashamed, because he did not see the humor in it. He only stayed for a very short time."

Without Marjorie I Would Be Very Unhappy

André Rieu the movie is going to conquer the world.
"Yes, of course. Leon de Winter who wrote the script called me and said: "I am going to make a movie about Johann Strauss and you are going to play Strauss." I told him: "Never, I have so much respect for Strauss that I can only play myself." Leon then skillfully changes the entire script. It is very nice now. I play myself in the movie, but through a wonderful trick, I suddenly find myself in Johann Strauss’ times. To make a movie is quite a complicated undertaking. It will take some time before the movies is a reality. I will have to be gone for at least four months to do the filming and there should so-we-so be a big bag of money on the table to keep this undertaking going. We are currently very much involved in that, and I think it will turn out fantastic."

Without my wife, I am helpless.
Without her I am very unhappy. We always have breakfast in the same place, overlooking the garden. This morning I even told her, "Don’t ever let me sit here all by myself." I would not know what to do with the rest of my life. She feels the same way about me. That started when we first learned to know each other: I was 11 and she 13.It took several years after that before we came together, but I have always had the feeling that it was destined to be this way. Crazy, huh?"

What is the biggest misunderstanding about me?
"At school and at the conservatory people thought that I was an arrogant idiot, an aloof type. That’s the last thing that I am."

Thanks to Ineke for sending this and John Translating it

►Click HERE To Watch Photoshow by Jennifer

André Rieu to Play Himself In a Hollywood Film

PREMIER!

André Rieu to play himself in a Hollywood film

“It will be a grand story premiering in the States”

After Rocco Granata, André Rieu (64) will also have his own full length movie. “A Hollywood film in which I play myself in the present time and also in the time of Johann Strauss” says the violin virtuoso from Maastricht, in an exclusive interview with HALLO.

Hallo Nov. 2013: We are speaking with André Rieu in Genk, Belgium at the premier of "Marina", a new film by Stijn Coninx. That André was there was in itself quite a major surprise, since a bond between Rocco and André does not exist. "I do not personally know Rocco Granata. But I have been playing his world hit ‘Marina’ for the last 35 years as one of my closing pieces in all of my concerts. "Undoubtedly Rocco will have noticed that in his SABAM (royalty) earnings" the Waltz King says laughingly. André would like to meet Rocco to ask him something immediately. "I would like to invite him as a special guest during my performance in the Hasselt Ethias Arena on 4 January 2014. And together with him play ‘Marina’. That would make a fantastic climax."

WORLD PREMIER

The Netherlands’ biggest violinist and orchestra leader, who has sold more than 30 million albums, is loved and renowned since his Johann Strauss orchestra presents classical music in a popular way, is incidentally full of praise about the film of Rocco Granata’s life. "It is a very moving film" according to André " I cried at the end. Yes, when there is something with fathers and sons, I cannot hold it back any longer. My own father did not like it too well either that I was going to play "little waltzes" as he called it. But towards the end of his life he noticed how serious and dedicated I was about it all and finally he gave in by saying:"Yes, there is only one who can really do this."

Hallo: In short, this could be about you. Isn’t it about time that one makes a film about your life? 
André: (Whispering) "Well, shall I spill the beans? To be honest, we are already doing that."

Hallo: This is fantastic news. How concrete are the plans? Is there for instance a script already?
André: "But of course. Old Elsevier columnist and novel writer Leon de Winter, who now lives in California, has already written it."

Hallo: Did he write the script at your request? Or how exactly did the idea come about?
André: "Well, two years ago, Leon called me with a very special question: "I want to make a film about Johann Strauss and you have to play him."

Hallo: And you were immediately enthusiastic?
André: "My answer was no, no, no, I will not do that! NEVER! I will only play myself . . ."

Hallo: So .... 
André: "Leon then changed and rewrote the entire script, so that I can really play myself in the film." 

Hallo: And so a film about Strauss became one about Rieu? 
André: "That's right. In the film I play myself in the present time, but Strauss is not totally gone from the story. Through a trick in the story, I will indeed also play in the time of Johann Strauss." 

Hallo: Are you satisfied with the result? 
André: "The scenario Leon wrote has become very nice and yes, I am in total agreement." (He laughs ) 

Hallo: In the mean time have the recordings already started? 
André: "No, currently we are working to organize everything so that we can really live up to that film. That is not always obvious in these times. The latter was also remarked on by Peter Bouckaert , the producer of "Marina", just shortly after the performance . I can agree with him: "It is a long road and a lot of misery to bring a movie to a successful conclusion." 

Hallo: So we should not expect the movie in the theaters in 2014? 
André: "No, that would be a little too soon. But I guarantee you that will become a reality. I enormously look forward to it." 

Hallo: With a world premiere in Maastricht? 
André: "No, In Hollywood! This is a great story! "(Bursting out with laughter).

Thanks to Benny Geets and Ineke for forwarding this interview, and John’s translation. 

Privé Interview With André Rieu

PRIVÉ Exclusive: Nov. 2013: For the first time star violinist ANDRÉ RIEU (64) speaks openly about the most dramatic period in his life. He talks about his burnout, the tragic death of his father, and also about his unfulfilled childhood dream, the woman who wanted to kill him, and his beloved MARJORIE, who saved his life.
He has just returned from a tour of Mexico and he is still going to Australia, New Zealand and England and in January a grand tour through Germany will commence. It has been a kind of routine for André Rieu for 25 years. The world has become small for the star violinist and his famous orchestra, yet he prefers to be at home in Maastricht. He finds it difficult to say goodbye every time he leaves home.

Has that always been the case?
“Yes, even when I was still with the Maastricht Symphony Orchestra. I would wait for the bus while MARJORIE stood in front of the window with the boys who were still young at that stage. I found that awful.”

You have said that you want to die in Maastricht.
“I would prefer to die at home. I was born in Maastricht and I am happy living here. But I am going to become 120 so I still have ample time.”

From where do you get the idea that you will reach 120 years of age?
“Because I feel young and fit. I exercise a lot and do the things that I like and hope to be able to do so for a long time to come. It’s got nothing to do with clairvoyance (fortune telling). I am a down- to- earth and rational person.”

Do the men in your family become old?
“My mother is 93 and recently drove to her house in the south of France. She is so fit. My grandmother reached the age of 102. I have a cordial relationship with my mother although we don’t often see one another because I’m often away (from home).”

What is the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning? Your violin?
“Haha, no, I see my wife first, who is far more beautiful than my violin. But my violin is on a stand next to the bed. If you own a Stradivarius you do not like to let it out of sight.

Why doesn’t your wife ever accompany you on your tours?
“Someone needs to take care of the house and ensure that everything keeps going here”.

Is that the secret of a long and happy marriage?
“Yes, it’s a good recipe (idea) to be away from home often. It becomes boring to do everything together and constantly be in one another’s company for 38 years. We always look forward to seeing one another again. We think and feel the same. Whenever we are together, we discover that again. Amazing.”

So you want to live with the same woman until you are hundred and twenty year old?
“Absolutely! I have only considered a divorce once. That was while we were involved in a dance course and quarreled. She can dance and I can’t. Let me rather play (my violin).”

Can you imagine a life without music?
“No, I cannot. Music penetrates your soul; it goes very deep. It has been proven that music even resonates with people with severe Alzheimers (disease)”.

Do you fear that a time will come when you will not be able to play; not be capable of ascending the stage?
“I never think about that. But if happens, it happens.”

You have gone through a difficult period which must have been rather severe for you?
“Fortunately that is something of the past. I now exercise three times a week and that has totally changed my life. I was suffering from loss of co-ordination. But it eventually turned out that I did not move enough. Someone who, like me, travels a lot and jumps around on stage has to ensure that he remains healthy. I have improved my lifestyle, because it was a warning.”

Don’t you suffer dizzy spells anymore?
“No, never again. The secret really lies in the exercising. Three times a week. Previously I simply never had the time for that, I just worked. I’ve lost fourteen kilos, because even my eating habits have changed. It is very simple: you eat white fish once a week, twice a week white meat, once a week oily fish and red meat also once a week. And once a week you should go to McDonald's and indulge in delicious sin. I stick to the diet and it works well. 

Of course you have to cut out soft drinks and sweets.” Isn't that difficult?
“Oh well, once upon a time I smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. When Marjorie was pregnant, I stopped because it would be harmful to our child. I have never touched a cigarette again. If you are motivated, it is not difficult. I just thought about my son's health.”

That son is now a father himself and you are a grandfather…
“I find that wonderful”.

Wouldn’t you have liked to have a daughter?
“Oh, sure, very much. But we're happy with our two sons; we are proud of them. If we had had more children, they would probably also have been boys. We liked the idea of two children; we worked hard and wanted to give as much attention as possible to MARC and PIERRE”.

You come from a big family.

“Yes. We were six children at home and I was always happy. I played with my brothers and other children in the street.” 

There is a picture of you with two of your sisters, hand in hand. Do you still have any contact with them? 
“Yes, sure, but we all live scattered throughout the country.” 

There is another photo from 1970 which depicts you sitting in an attic in Brussels. Under that picture is written: ‘I was very lonely and unhappy.’
“That was me at that time. When Marjorie came, all was well. She saved my life. I was always alone in my room and only studied the violin. Day in, day out.”

What was the most beautiful occasion in your life?
“The birth of my children and meeting my wife. And our grandchildren. Those are beautiful things.”

What was the lowest point of your life?
“That is difficult to say; I’ve actually never had a really bad dip. Well yes, when I was ill a few years ago and couldn’t do anything … that was not nice. That I disappointed my fans and could not work. I hope I will never experience that again.”

You were also on the verge of bankruptcy; you had enormous debts.
“That was also not pleasant, but I find it less aggravating than being ill. I managed to overcome the financial dip. After a year that aspect of my life was healthy again. But to be physically unwell is awful.”

Security at your castle is heavy. Do you fear burglary that much?
“When you are as well known as I am, there are always people who think that everything you own also belong to them. That is of course not the case and every individual is entitled to privacy.”

Have you experienced incidents with (mentally) unstable fans?
“Yes, for sure. Some of them would stand in front of the door for three weeks in the summer and think that I like it, but that is not pleasant. I have also received death threats. Then I brought in the police. Their investigation led to a mentally unstable woman who started crying when the police came to her house.”

Don’t you ever have beautiful women knocking on the door of your hotel room when you are on tour?
“No, we stay in good hotels where you cannot simply walk in. And I also have no need for that. I have always been faithful (to Marjorie). I find that important in a marriage.”

Has there never been a crisis in your marriage in all these years?
“No, we never quarrel. That is perhaps not normal, but it is a fact.”

Are you and your wife soul mates?
“No; for instance, I watch totally different things on television than my wife. But it is a matter of compromise. That is life; love is (about) give and take. That is why I don’t watch only Formula 1 racing, but also some romantic movies, because Marjorie likes it.”

Your father’s death must have been a dreadful time in your life?
“Yes, that was worse than being ill. My father had a stroke and was unconscious afterwards. It didn’t last long and we didn’t know how long he was going to live. He did not recognize us towards the end and that I found terrible.”

What will happen to your Stradivarius after your death?
“As far as I am concerned, it will go to the next generation, but I haven’t decided yet who will
inherit it. I still have ample time to think about that (issue).”

Thanks to Ineke for sending this and Entia Translating it

André Rieu Answers Questions on ABBA - Music of The Night

André Answers Questions on ABBA - Music Of The Night

►Click HERE To Watch Interview

Thanks To Jaya for The Photos

André Rieu ~ ABBA

►Click HERE To Listen to André Playing ABBA Songs

(With Photos)

André Rieu Interview with Hello Magazine!

Interview With "Hello Magazine" in the UK

HELLO MAGAZINE/UK November 2013 Issue: André Rieu, high priest of the violin, king of the waltz and connoisseur of cake, is sitting in the kitchen of his castle in Maastricht. The flamboyant Dutchman has lived in the city all his life and says that his kitchen is the place where the real d’Artagnan, upon whom the French writer Alexandre Dumas’s famous character in The Three Musketeers is based, was said to have had his last breakfast before losing his life in a battle in the Franco-Dutch War, fighting for French King Louis XIV.

André loves Maastricht, tucked away in a strip of The Netherlands between Belgium and Germany. It is elegant and charming, like the man himself. He spends half his time here with his wife Marjorie and family, the rest on tour. “It’s very relaxing to be here,” he says, “If people recognize me at home they don’t bother me. I love to be at home.”

Tickets to his concerts regularly outsell those to Justin Bieber’s and Beyoncé’s. Together with his 60-piece Johann Strauss Orchestra, he fills arenas with extravagant shows featuring plumed horses, crystal chandeliers, balloons and even snow. The women in his orchestra wear full crinolines. The visuals are dramatic and excessive. Yet, when it comes down to it, the shows are really about the man himself. When André plays his violin, it’s a moving experience – tears stream down people’s faces.

In person, he can provoke the same reaction by the way he looks at you, or rather through you. “My mother always said, ‘Don’t look people in the eye like that’”, André recalls. “I was the black sheep of the family. But I always felt looking into someone’s eyes is the best way to know them. I can pick them out in the audience. I don’t know whom I choose to look at, it just happens. That exchange gives me energy and I have the feeling I’m playing just for them. Otherwise it would be so dull – we would be just doing our job, playing the same programme we have been playing already for a few months. I want to be really connecting.”

He fixes me again. We are eating a local cake called Limburgse vlaai made with strawberries, cream, marzipan and pastry. “I was very fat growing up and loved to eat cake,” says the maestro. “I am only eating this today to welcome you.”

Indeed, the violinist and conductor has been on a healthy diet and exercise regime ever since a viral ear infection in 2010 caused him to cancel concerts for the first time. It came on suddenly, overwhelming him with dizziness and nausea and leaving him utterly exhausted. “I woke up at 3am. The room was spinning. I couldn’t stop it. In the morning I felt I was broken.” It took him several months to recover and, determined to remain healthy, he now works out with a personal trainer every day.

With his rock star long hair and animated expressions, André, who has two sons and four grandchildren, looks younger than his 64 years. “I have learnt that I have to take better care of myself,” he says, “I do a lot of sport now and do press ups together with my son Pierre every day. Yesterday I set a new record on the leg press – 280 kilos. My trainer told me that from the age of 25 you start losing muscle, so I decided to eat less cake and try to get my muscle back. I had lost 50 per cent of my muscle and I would say now, after working out for a year, I have ten per cent back. In another year we could do a naked photograph of me.” For now though, we eat cake.

André’s 25 room castle – the romantically named Huis de Torentjes (House of Turrets) – complete with an orangery housing butterflies, is in two parts, the oldest dating to the 15th century. “We are sitting in the oldest part now,” says André. “You can see it on old paintings. Louis XIV wanted to take Maastricht. They were often there with their armies, but the Maastricht people were very clever. There was this little river called the Jeker and you could close it with special doors and flood the whole region, so they would wait for French armies to come and then flood them. The real d’Artagnan came here because a French duke lived here at the time. He was a musician. On the door of the castle there is a Latin inscription that says ‘Only people who love the arts can come here’ and I am here. I knew this house as a child. It was dark and dank, yet I knew I wanted one day to live here. I cam here for piano lessons and the piano teacher was a b***h – therefore I hated the piano. I loved my violin because the teacher was blonde and beautiful. If my piano teacher had been blonde and beautiful perhaps I’d be playing the piano now.”

Andre’s father was a traditional classical musician. André says of his parents: “They never thought I’d amount to anything because I didn’t want to play like that. I always wanted to play with my emotions.” Like some shaman of the waltz, André is a maestro of magical thinking, making everything waltzable, including the tracks on his latest album, Magic of the Movies.

“My doctor tells me, ‘Mr Rieu, you are a miracle – your heart beats in three-four time,’” laughs André. “I was always close to the violin. When you hold the violin it vibrates with your body. The piano seems to be much more intellectual. You can make harmony, which I cannot do on the violin, but I can make melody, and I’m a melody man. Melody teaches other people to produce harmony.”

André bought the two parts of the castle separately. While one part had been renovated by a French designer and was in good condition, the other was not. “The person who lived here had no money and it was very damp. Eventually I persuaded them to sell me their half. It looks out onto a courtyard where it was always my dream to build an orangery and fill it with beautiful birds and butterflies. I am a keen conservationist. I believe in putting things back. Some people may dream of owning a Ferrari but for me it was an orangery where I could import my favourite big blue butterflies. They live only to die (they live just three weeks). They come from Nicaragua and they are the most beautiful.”

The virtuoso has no intention of ever leaving and has precise plans for the future. “I have always said that I want to live to at least 120 and before I die I’d like to play a concert on the moon. I’m in touch with Sir Richard Branson. We have an agreement that he is building a hotel there and I will go there with my whole orchestra. It must be the ultimate experience of relativity – seeing the earth from there, without borders, without race differences. I often imagine this in my mind. I often dream that I’m flying and I remember thinking as a little boy, ‘Was I here before? Something is not quite right.’”

André’s long-held love of flying led to him buying his own aeroplanes. “I sold my last plane six years ago,” he says, “now I rent them. Never buy a plane! Suddenly there’ll be a new law and you’ll need a new meter in the cockpit and it’ll be a tiny thing and they’ll say, ‘That’ll be 900,000 Euro.’” These days the interest is beginning to wane. “I don’t have the patience. It’s quite a dull thing. The only good moment is the take-off and landing.” That said, in his meeting room, which houses a table the size of a small classroom, executives from Dutch airline KLM are discussing a potential sponsorship deal. “I’ve told them they’ll have to change the uniforms of their stewardesses – they are horrible,” insists André. “Until now I’ve refused all sponsorship because if I give my name to a product, I expect quality. Every week people come to me with offers. This is the first time I’ve even considered one because an old friend is now the CEO. But it’s not something you do in an instant.”

He already has a castle for a home and has fully indulged his passion for planes, so how else does André like to spend his money? “I like to buy butterflies and good instruments for my orchestra. Also I have a lot of pleasure putting the girls (in the orchestra) in beautiful dresses. They are all handmade and a single dress costs up to 5,000 Euro. All the girls have four dresses each. I have four of everything. All the big instruments, costumes, sound, set dressing, all of it – I have four of them. One set is somewhere on the sea going to Australia, one is in South America, one is here and another is on its way to Asia. Otherwise, we would not be able to travel.”

Two years ago when the orchestra was on a tour of Mexico, thieves broke into their hotel room in Guadalajara. “It was very scary, “ recalls André. “A list of our rooms was leaked by one of the hotel staff to the criminals. They took money and small things but they could not find the instruments. My violin was with me in the restaurant. I would never leave it in a hotel room.” Little wonder, as the violin is a treasured Stradivarius worth several million pounds. “There are only 400 left in the world so it’s very precious.”

André once said that he and Marjorie sleep with the violin between them. “I don’t see it as my property. I would like to preserve it for the next generation. The same with the castle.” He and Marjorie have been married for 38 years. They met when he was 11 and she was 13. Although they didn’t have their first date till he was 22 he always knew that “she was the proper one.” A former teacher, Marjorie financed the start of her husband’s orchestra ambitions. “I wanted an equal,” says André. “ When Marjorie gave birth to Pierre it was two o’clock in the morning. By nine she was there with her agenda and her phone.”

His wife still manages part of André’s operation. Pierre, 32, has taken on a directorial role. Eldest son Marc, 34, is an artist and has a son, Ivan, four, and a daughter, Fleur, three. Pierre has twin girls Linde and Lieke, born in 2008. “When they were born I had just arrived in Australia and I cried the whole day,” says André. “I was fighting huge emotions, wanting to go home. The twins started playing the violin when they were three. Marc’s boy is also very gifted but I’m not pushing them.”

André was brought up Catholic. While he is no longer religious, he is spiritual. What about the reports that a woman who came to one of his concerts in a wheelchair, unable to walk, stood up at the end? “That was absolutely real. I certainly think music has a healing property.”

He tells me he hopes one day to build a convent on his property. “I always thought if I ever put down my violin I’d be an architect. I like the idea of having a convent in the garden – a place where nuns can walk and meditate. I love the idea of serenity.” He finds his own peace in his beloved orangery: “ I love to sit and watch the butterflies and the koi. It makes me feel connected to the earth in a beautiful way.”

An Big Thank You to Angela for buying the Magazine and Typing this all out for us!!

André Rieu on Late Night With English Subtitles

Nov. 2013: Nine year old Amira Willighagen from Nijmegen from "Holland's Got Talent". The judges were blown away with her performance. André Rieu has invited her to his studio for a Master Class. Will she perform with him in Maastricht??? We hope so!

► Click HERE To Watch Interview With English Subtitles

► Click HERE To Watch Her Sing!