Andre Rieu......

[janzman]

......I'm not a fan of his and I don't go for his concerts, way to cheesy and frankly tacky, but I acknowledge his is an excellent showman.

I'm not a musician in any way so my questions are directed to the knowledgeable musicians out there in ABland.

Given that the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is the finest in the world when it comes to the works of Johann Strauss......

How does the Andre Rieu orchestra compare (if it does compare) to the VPO
How accomplished a violinist is Andre Rieu
Do you think he would find a place in the VPO string section

[CrapAtCryptics]

While he is a very accomplished player and showman, stradivarii dont come cheap how do you rate someone at that level. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that his concerts in Maastricht, his home town, will go ahead as we have tickets.

[bednobs]

never even heard of him till this q and then I looked at related q's to educate myself!

[maggiebee]

Have seen the Andre Rieu orchestra live four times. They are all extremely accomplished.

[Mamyalynne]

I wouldn't know how to compare orchestras, I guess you could check each member's credentials.

They must be doing something right.

https://www.andrerieu.com/en/about-andre/the-johann-strauss-orchestra

[Theland]

I love the fiddle.

[Bobbisox1]

Been to see him, the show is colourful and you can tell he thinks a lot of those who play with him

[roopower]

I, like some posters, wouldn't know how to compare orchestras. Andre has players who have been with him for 25 years and more and they are all very accomplished. Andre is 70 and has been playing the violin since he was 5 so I would imagine he is excellent, he sounds just fine to me. I am a fan, have seen the orchestra in this country several times and in Maastricht twice, I always leave feeling uplifted but can understand that Andre's concerts are not gor everyone.

[Bazile]

Apparently all the members of his orchestra are treated the same when they are on tour , in terms of the hotels they stay in etc
That costs a lot of money . Fair play to him

[roopower]

Yes, Bazile , the orchestra are treated like extended family. After the performance everyone sits down to a meal together to unwind. They have chefs and a doctor travel with them and are very well looked after. It has to be said that Andre keeps a tight hold of everything though his son is tour manager, nothing happens without Andres say so but I suppose if you are responsible for upwards of 200 livelihoods, with the people who do the sound, lighting, costumes, sets etc you have to do things properly.

[Barsel]

I would say one thing about Andre Rieu's concerts, he wants you to enjoy yourself, have fun. His concerts are not stuffy as some can be but his are light hearted and I wouldn't say tacky janzman. The audience become involved and you can see on their faces that they are having a good time.This is what his music is all about.

[JimF]

His talent, and that of his orchestra, is difficult to question. Certainly, as the saying goes, nothing succeeds like success! Is he as "good" as Nigel Kennedy, or Yehudi Menuhin, or Stéphane Grappelli? That's such a stupid question that no-one with any sense would ask it! For one thing, what criteria would you use to measure it?

The question is, do you like what he does? I don't, personally - it's just too smooth and predictable. There's never really any danger of anything going wrong.

I much prefer fiddlers like Charlie McKerron, Duncan Chisholm, Aly Bain et al. The master, Dave Swarbrick, is sadly no longer with us.

[Buenchico]

AR is clearly a very talented peformer, as well as an accomplished showman, but am I the only one who thinks that this performance would have sounded exactly the same to the audience even if he wasn't prancing about at the front of the stage? (i.e. what's the point of having a virtuoso performer if all he does is to join in with the first violins anyway?)

[JimF]

Exactly!

[JimF]

(Sorry, hit Enter by accident!)

It's the whole Indiana Jones argument!

[Buenchico]

Following on from that . . .

If you're going to having someone prancing around at the front of the stage, let it be a conductor who really knows how to bring out all the tones and shades of the music (which simply aren't there in the video above):

[Barsel]

Chris, read my post at 1.02. Look at the faces of the players and the audience in the Andre Rieu clip and then in the other video. Rieu brings joy and fun to his audience, it's not about tones and shades with him, and I do appreciate he wouldn't be to everyone's taste but as janzman has said, he is an excellent showman.I would rather watch his concert any day as to me a concert is more than just who can play the violin the best.