The Johann Strauss Orchestra is a pops orchestra founded in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

André Rieu André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (, ; born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known as the founder of the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra tour worldwide, often playing in stadiums. He resides ...

in 1987. The orchestra is well known for performing classical works with a distinctly unorthodox frivolity, joking with the audience and performing all sorts of antics.

Performances and recordings

Rieu and his orchestra have performed throughout Europe, in North America, Japan, and Australia. Winning a number of awards, including two

World Music Awards The World Music Awards was an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event was based in Monte Carlo. Awards were presented to the worl ...

, their recordings have gone gold and platinum in many countries, including eight-time platinum in the Netherlands. At Rieu's studios in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

, the orchestra has recorded a wide range of classical, popular and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

, and music from cinema and musical theatre. His lively orchestral presentations, in tandem with effective marketing, have attracted worldwide audiences to this subgenre of classical music. Some of the orchestra's performances have been broadcast in the United Kingdom on

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

and the United States on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television network such as the 2003 airing of ''Andre Rieu Live in Dublin'', filmed in Dublin, Ireland, and 2003's ''André Rieu Live in Tuscany'' filmed in the Piazza Della Repubblica in the village of

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan language, Etr ...

in Tuscany.

History

Gemma Serpenti and the Dutch violinist and conductor, André Rieu founded the Maastricht Salon Orchestra (MSO) in 1978. In the beginning, André Rieu performed small classical crossover concerts with the MSO. The group has served as the vehicle for Rieu's increasingly ambitious ideas since its founding. In 1987 André renamed the MSO as the Johann Strauss Orchestra to emphasise

waltz music A waltz, probably deriving from German '' Ländler'', is dance music in triple meter, often written in time. A waltz typically sounds one chord per measure, and the accompaniment style particularly associated with the waltz is (as seen in th ...

. On the occasion of Rieu's first concert with the orchestra, on January 1, 1988, there were 12 musicians. At the time the orchestra first toured Europe, there emerged a renewed interest in waltz music. The revival began in the Netherlands and was ignited by their recording of the ''Second Waltz'' from

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...

's '' Suite for Variety Orchestra''. As a result, Rieu became known as the modern "Waltz King," a title originally bestowed upon

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

. The orchestra has performed regularly with guest musicians and singers such as Carla Maffioletti, Mirusia Louwerse, Carmen Monarcha and the Platin Tenors.

Members

By 2008, the orchestra had expanded to 43 members, and in the 2010s the group variously included anywhere from 80 to 150 members, depending on venue and occasion. The most senior member of the orchestra is Jean Sassen, who has been a member since 1987.

References

External links

André Rieu
(official website)
André Rieu fansite

André Rieu fansite (mainly movies)

* {{Authority control Dutch orchestras 1987 establishments in the Netherlands Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups from Limburg (Netherlands) South Limburg (Netherlands) Culture in Maastricht Strauss family Pops orchestras