André Rieu Christmas concerts in Maastricht: all you need to know
Where can you see the Dutch violinist, dubbed the ‘King of Waltz’, and his Johann Strauss Orchestra during this year’s festive season?
During the 2022 festival season, Dutch violinist, conductor and ‘King of Waltz’ André Rieu presents ‘Christmas in My Hometown’ in Maastricht, the Netherlands, with his 60-piece Johnann Strauss Orchestra.
André Rieu live Christmas concerts
In what promises to be his ‘most lavish setting since his Schönbrunn tour’, the concerts are described as follows:
‘From the moment you enter the concert you will be completely immersed in an incomparable Christmas atmosphere of a true winter wonderland. Marvel at a magnificent palace decoration and Christmas landscape, complete with snow, two ice rinks, lovely winter scenes, romantic lighting, red carpet, countless lights, 150 beautiful chandeliers and over 50 Venetian candelabras.
‘Emerge in the spirit of the season while singing and dancing away to lovely Christmas carols, romantic waltzes and beautiful songs from all over the world like Jingle Bells, Ave Maria, Oh Holy Night, Hallelujah, Sleigh Ride and many more! Doors will open 2 hours before so that you can wander around a marvellous Christmas Market and enjoy delicious food and drinks before the concert.’
Events take place on 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18 December.
Tickets and travel packages can be booked at https://www.andrerieu.com/en/christmas-with-andre
Christmas album
If you can’t make it to one of the concerts, Rieu and his orchestra have also produced a new Christmas album for 2022, entitled Silver Bells, including such classic carols and popular songs as ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’, ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, Coventry Carol, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, In the Bleak Midwinter and, of course, ‘Silver Bells’.
On the bonus DVD, audiences ‘can now take a trip to André’s Winter Wonderland from the comfort of their own living room, and marvel at the unique atmosphere of his traditional Christmas concerts, recorded live in his hometown Maastricht.’
Rieu says: ‘With Silver Bells I would like to wish everybody around the world love, peace and joy! I hope you will enjoy the music, the romance, the magic. I hope I will warm your hearts with these wonderful melodies and make you all dance around the Christmas tree. My orchestra and I and wish you a wonderful holiday season with a lot of music.’
Buy the album through Amazon
How to watch 'Christmas with André’ at cinema and on television
In the UK
‘Christmas with André’, a 130-minute festive celebration – featuring a never-before-seen 90-minute Christmas concert from 2015, packed with festive favourites – is playing at various cinemas in the UK on Saturday 19 November.
Audiences will also be treated to ‘a live intimate tour of Maastricht's magical Christmas highlights with André himself, as well as a Q&A session with CinemaLive host Charlotte Hawkins where “The King of Waltz” will answer questions submitted by cinema audiences.’
More like this
Details below:
everymancinema.com/film-info/andre-rieu-christmas-with-andre-encore
myvue.com/event/andre-rieu-christmas-with-andre
cinemalive.com/event/andre-rieu-christmas-with-andre
And for those who missed his Christmas concert, 'André Rieu in Dublin' will be shown at over 500 cinemas throughout the UK over the weekend of 7 and 8 January in celebration of the new year.
'New Years is always such a special time, looking forward to the future, coming together with friends and family and toasting the year ahead!' he says. 'This will be a wonderful concert for everyone to kick off 2023 with a waltz or two! My fabulous Johann Strauss orchestra and I look forward to seeing you in the cinemas and sharing this special time with one another.'
Details here: andreincinemas.com/
In the Netherlands
The NPO 1 TV station will broadcast ‘Christmas in Maastricht’ on 16 and 24 December, and ‘Christmas in London’ on 24 and 26 December.
Details here: andrerieu.com/en/tv-radio-cinema
Authors
Charlotte Smith is the editor of BBC Music Magazine. Born in Australia, she hails from a family of musicians with whom she played chamber music from a young age. She earned a bachelor’s degree in violin performance from London's Royal College of Music, followed by a master’s in English from Cambridge University. She was editor of The Strad from 2017 until the beginning of 2022, and has also worked for Gramophone Magazine and as a freelance arts writer. In her spare time, she continues to perform as an active chamber musician.
