As the Morning Sun Cast a Golden Glow Over Germany, André Rieu Settled Into the Volle Kanne Studio, His Presence as Effortlessly Captivating as His Music. For Ninety Enchanting Minutes, He Wove Stories of Passion, Perseverance, and the Magic Hidden Within Each Note of His Beloved Violin. With a Quiet Smile, He Revealed Secrets of His Journey, His Voice Carrying the Same Warmth That Filled Concert Halls Worldwide. And as the Interview Unfolded, It Became More Than Just a Conversation—It Was a Symphony of Memories, Dreams, and the Timeless Power of Music.

Andrea (the hostess) and André exchange greetings with 3 kisses,
which is considered to be Dutch….. (but it never was, as far as I know…).

Good morning André, it must be very early for you,  I suppose.
Andre: Yes, I set my alarm clock to 5 a.m., but I woke up at 4.30
by the singing of the nightingale. (He was still suffering the jet lag).
Immediately I was wide awake and I felt like traveling to Germany.

I heard you are an SMS-freak. How many SMS’ do you send per day?
Andre: O, hundreds.

Why?
Andre: Because I am on the road all day and it is a nice way to stay in touch with my wife, without
becoming a pest.  When I call, she has to stop what she is doing to pick up the phone every time.
This is more relaxing.

Did you always wear your hair long?
Andre: Yes, I think so, I was born with it. Joking: First came the hair and than me…..
Marjorie has cut my hair ever since we met.  I don’t like other people fumbling with me. With short
hair I guess I would have an egg-head.

André, you did not eat much from our breakfast table.
Andre: No, I already had breakfast at home, but I did take a bit of Muesli. He tells he does not like
sweets on bread, he prefers  meats or cheese.  In a later item about cooking a dessert, André
teaches the hostess the Dutch word “toetje” for a sweet dessert, which he does like! Lekker, lekker.

Do you cook yourself?
Andre: Yes, I like it very much because it gives me the nice feeling that I am home.

Do you do the cleaning jobs at home?
Andre: No, and Marjorie does not either.

What about your big show in Vienna?
Andre: ZDF (the second German channel) asked me to make a beautiful show,
to fill a late summer  TV evening. We agreed on Vienna, the garden of Schloss
Schoenbrunn (the former imperial summer residence). The show will be aired August
5th at ZDF. It will be a wonderful show. Franz Josef and Sisi (the imperial couple
who lived in the 19th century in Austria), will come by personally, we’ll  have the ballet
of the Austrian State Opera, a dancing school and of course the Lipizzaner
horses (famous white horses) of the Spanish Riding School (which is in Vienna),
and Karl Moik (a well known German talk host and a friend of André).   André tells he
has a good cooperation with the producer of ZDF, they appreciate each others sense of humor,
they work together in a very pleasant way.

There was a question for the viewers. Giving the right answer, you could win 2 tickets for the
Vienna concert.
Where will the autumn special be recorded?
1.        New York, 2. Los Angeles. 3. Chicago.
(which is of course New York).

In between the program was an item about dogs and Andrea asks André whether he is a cat- or
dog-lover.
Andre: I prefer dogs. I do not understand cats, for they are so individual, with a mind of their own. I
have better contact with dogs. We always had dogs, also when I was a small boy. Now we have
one boxer left and a young poodle. We had 2 boxers, but one died recently. (He did not tell which dog
died. Is Xander still be alive? ).

Were you forced to play the violin?
Andre; Not really. I come from a family where everybody played music. So I thought it was quite
normal that everybody played an instrument. I started at the age of 5, encouraged by my parents,
of course.   We visited my fathers concerts and at a certain age I saw people in the audience
change when my father conducted a waltz with the encores. Suddenly there was much more
happiness and the audience smiled and moved. I was touched by that. That is why the idea  was
born that I wanted to make classical music more fun for a big audience. And I did!

Can you dance?
Andre: I prefer to play.  I can dance a bit, but not very well.

You are known as a good employer. You are the boss, a friend, a psychologist, even a father figure.
You took care that there would be a washing machine for the crew, a doctor, a catering service,
etc.                                                Andre: Yes, I drag my orchestra members and crew all over
the
world. They have to miss their families. So I want them to feel as
happy as possible. Once we ate Wiener Schnitzels all week long
and some people became got food poisoning.  That is why I
decided to do our own catering.    In my orchestra there are about
15 young mothers. The children cannot travel with us all the time.
But when we rehearse in Maastricht for a whole month in summer,
we have a daycare, so the young mothers can bring their children
to work while they play in the orchestra.

What does your wife mean to you?
Andre: Without her I’d be unhappy. I cannot do without her. I met her at the age of 11. She was my
sisters classmate. I was 11 and she was 13. Later on, when I was 21, we met again and than it
was burning love. We have been married for 31 years.

But we never see a picture of you together, so the press and tabloids are speculating a lot.
Andre: O yes, I know. But Marjorie and I made a clear agreement: I am in the publicity all the time
and she is not. I know more persons w