The magic of ANDRÉ RIEU’S MAASTRICHT
Charlotte Hawkins explores the Dutch city that King of Waltz André Rieu turns into a musical mecca every summer
WHAT have the Dutch ever done for us? Well, apart from cheese, clogs, tulips, windmills, Center Parcs, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, there’s violinist and conductor André Rieu.
He and his waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra – believed to be the world’s largest privately owned orchestra – are an international phenomenon, selling more than 40million albums and each year performing up to 100 concerts worldwide. Rieu was born in the Dutch city of Maastricht and for his devotees, attending the series of concerts the ‘King of Waltz’ stages each July in its main square is a great pilgrimage.
I can testify to the thrill of it – I’ve been there for the past eight years, hosting coverage of an event that has become so popular that these days it is beamed live by satellite to cinemas, allowing fans who can’t get there in person to still witness the full spectacle.
André lives on the outskirts of the city in a castle called De Torentjes, or ‘small towers’. He has taken me on a tour of his home, and tells a wonderful story about how as a child he used to visit the castle to have piano lessons and always dreamed of living there.
The oldest part of the castle is the kitchen, where the fabled musketeer D’Artagnan is said to have had his last breakfast before dying in battle. These days the castle is much more calm. André has created an orangery with butterflies in the grounds and it’s the place he looks forward to returning to between his exhausting tours.
He has been performing his concerts in Maastricht’s main square, the Vrijthof, since 2004 and it has grown every year since. About 120,000 people live in the city, but that number doubles as crowds pour in to see his concerts.
And they come from around the world. Last year there were concert-goers from 79 countries, including Fiji and Indonesia.
The Vrijthof can take 8,000 seats but the cafes, restaurants and bars that surround the square are all booked up with a further 3,500, as people cram in to eat, drink and be merry while the concerts go on.
It all adds up to an amazing atmosphere. There is singing, clapping and even dancing along to the music. He is not called the King of Waltz for nothing. I have never seen such an outbreak of spontaneous waltzing before. I even joined in last year – and that was before my stint on Strictly Come Dancing!
There are always special guests – in previous years they have included Jermaine Jackson and Lou Bega (of Mambo No5 fame) – and Sir Anthony Hopkins was in the audience one year as André played a waltz the actor had written.
You never know what will happen next at André’s concerts. I have seen everything from Mary Poppins flying in from the sky to David Hasselhoff coming on stage in a Kitt car from his hit TV series Knight Rider.
There is something for everyone, with a magnificent mixture of music both old and new. André likes to surprise people and fans know they can expect everything from Nessun Dorma to You’ll Never Walk Alone, from the Radetzky March to Love Me Tender. Last year Rieu’s 60-strong orchestra celebrated 30 years on stage together, and there is a real family atmosphere between them which comes across when you watch the shows. Adding to the family feel is André’s son Pierre, always there by his side as vice-president of André Rieu Productions, ensuring the touring side of the business is a huge success. It all makes André one of the biggest male touring artists in the world, outselling stars such as Elton John and Rod Stewart. Much of his time is spent on tour, and the orchestra has four stage sets that travel around the world. That means four sets of instruments, four sets of costumes, and four entire stages. It is a costly undertaking – the women’s dresses are said to be worth £3,000 each.
The scale of the production once nearly bankrupted André, who paid millions to build a replica of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna.
This year there will be a record 13 concerts in Maastricht, which gives even more people a chance to experience the buzz of the live show for themselves.
This year André’s theme is Amore – My Tribute To Love, and there is a special opportunity to have a piece of music dedicated to a loved one at the concert. André will be picking a lucky winner, who will be announced live on stage.
For those who can’t make it to Maastricht however, there is the alternative of the live cinema concert, which once again I will be hosting. Watching André in action live on screen is not just a spectator sport – be prepared to clap, sway, sing and even dance along to the music. There aren’t many cinema performances that can achieve that, and it is one of the reasons why his shows have outsold even Take That and One Direction to be the highest grossing music concerts of all time in UK cinemas.
This year’s show will be screened up and down the country on the weekend of July 28 and 29. I have to say, though, that there is nothing like being in Maastricht to see it live, and experience the magic of the city.
My annual trip to Maastricht has become one of my special treats, and not just because I have the chance to renew my acquaintance with the great man. Maastricht is also a very likeable town.
It is best known to many as the place that gave its name to the treaty that established the European Union (from the previously named European Community) and paved the way for the euro. But the city has much more to offer than dusty piles of EU legislation. Some 26 years on and with the European landscape set to look significantly different, Maastricht has a reassuring, unaltered sense of history. For lovers of architecture, cycling, shopping and good food, it is a must-see location.
I love exploring the city every summer: I am always struck by the beauty of the historic buildings, the
AT HIS CONCERTS CROWDS SING AND DANCE TO THE MUSIC
THE CITY’S CHARM IS IN ITS BEAUTIFUL AND BUSY SQUARES
mixture of heritage and the vibrancy of the place.
It’s one of the oldest cities in Holland, just a stone’s-throw from the Belgian and German borders, and gets its name from the Romans who called it Traiectum ad Mosam or ‘Crossing at the Meuse’.
From Roman times to the Second World War, it has been coveted by many conquerors and liberators. It has been under siege several times, and has been claimed by both Spain and France. You can feel the French influence in the city and in the local Mestreechs dialect there are still a number of French words in use. The city’s rich past means it has spectacular sights spanning the Romanesque, Renaissance and baroque periods, and churches and museums in abundance.
One church I make sure to visit to every year is the Basilica of Our Lady, much of which dates from the 11th Century. It has a majestic and spiritual feel, and a steady stream of people come to admire its beauty within and light candles for loved ones.
The Basilica is situated in Onze Lieve Vrouweplein – the Square of Our Lady – which is often packed with people making the most of the pavement cafes that surround it. The largest square in the city is the Vrijthof, which has attracted crowds since medieval times when pilgrims came to see the grave of Saint Servatius, the city’s first bishop.
Maastricht’s charm is in its squares, always teeming with people eating, drinking and enjoying themselves. There is a laid-back feel, but the locals are always wonderfully friendly and give you a warm welcome.
It’s easy enough to walk around Maastricht and see the key sights, or you can do as many of the locals do – they are Dutch, after all – and cycle. If you head up to Fort Sint Pieter, the highest point in the area, you can get a great view of the surrounding area.
The locals call the area Klein Zwitserland, or Little Switzerland, as the rest of the Netherlands is so flat.
Once you’ve admired the view you can take a look underground with a tour around the St Pietersberg caves – miles of tunnels excavated over the centuries, and used as a refuge during the Second World War. Back above ground there are several green spaces to stroll around. The Aldenhofpark is set against the backdrop of the old city walls, and there you will find a statue of D’Artagnan, who was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’s Three Musketeers, but in truth was a captain of Louis XIV’s Musketeers of the Guard. He died at Maastricht in the first Franco-Dutch war of 1673, and his statue bears the Musketeers’ famous oath ‘one for all, all for one’ in French.
It is the perfect photo opportunity, but be prepared for the inevitable accompanying shouts of ‘En garde!’
As well as the plentiful sightseeing opportunities, there is also a great variety of shops, all in a compact area. There are designer boutiques, department stores, home shops, and for those with a sense of nostalgia, even a C&A!
To keep your energy levels up it is definitely worth trying the local speciality – a sweet pastry treat called vlaai.
There are bakeries crammed full of them in the mornings but you have to get there early as they sell like veritable hot cakes – just like those André Rieu tickets.