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Just watching it as I write on my local PBS station. :thumbsup:

Andre Rieu: Live in Vienna

André Rieu leads the Johann Strauss Orchestra at Hofburg Palace in Vienna. Included are compositions from Johann Strauss, Franz Lahár and Mozart. Singers Suzan Erens, Carmen Monarcha, Carla Maffioletti and Mirusia Louwerse also perform.

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:thumbsup: I watched with great pleasure, The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and Dancers from The Vienna Statts Opera, and POB Nicholas Le Riche and Eleanora Abbganato, in gowns by Valentine/tino. All equisite in pink/grey looking absolutely stunning. Specially designed for the concert. I always try and watch this every New Years Day. It is a dream of mine to go there, but in one sense you see more on TV.
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Yes, Nanarina, it was a wonderful concert from Vienna :thumbsup:

I would love to be there in person, but alas, I have been informed that if you want tickets you must book them right now, and even then it is not sure that you will get any. It is very expensive and very popular, noticed all those Japanese in the auditorium. They have traveled far! However, I have been to the Musikverein listening to an ordinary (sorry, they are never "ordinary") concert with the Vienna Philharmonic and I can assure you that the concert hall is even more spectacular in real life.

The ballet was good - I am pleased that they hire famous soloists these days, hasnt always been the case. Remember a time when the ballet looked more like an end of term display.

What really impressed me during this concert was the film clip showing during "An der schönen blauen Donau". It showed almost the entire river, from its birth in a spring in Germany, through Austria, Serbia and Romania. The scenery was breathtaking. There are river cruises along the entire Donau...

It got me thinking... :(

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Thanks for posting the topic, cubanmiamiboy. Rieu can be kitschy, but it's most enjoyable kitsch, and I watch his shows regularly on PBS.

Nanarina, the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Strauss broadcast is one I never miss. There is something about hearing those waltzes and polkas played to the hilt by a great orchestra and the concert hall is awesome. (I too remember a time when you wondered where they found those ballet dancers, Pamela.)

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There's a lot of artistry that can be found in entertainment, some examples being Richard Tauber or Georg Ots in any operetta, Jan Peerce singing "You'll Never Walk Alone", Thomas Hampson's "Music of the Night", Arthur Fiedler's recordings, Ella Fitzgerald and Maria del Mar Bonet, Frank Sinatra -- the list goes on and on. Rieu's "schmalty pop music" was good enough for Balanchine to have used for four movements of one of his masterworks, "Vienna Waltzes".

A chacun son gout.

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There's a lot of artistry that can be found in entertainment, some examples being Richard Tauber or Georg Ots in any operetta, Jan Peerce singing "You'll Never Walk Alone", Thomas Hampson's "Music of the Night", Arthur Fiedler's recordings, Ella Fitzgerald and Maria del Mar Bonet, Frank Sinatra -- the list goes on and on. Rieu's "schmalty pop music" was good enough for Balanchine to have used for four movements of one of his masterworks, "Vienna Waltzes".

A chacun son gout.

ou dégoût

I by no means meant that the two are mutually exclusive - of course they're not! Rather one doesn't listen to Rieu for artistry any more than one watches Somova for taste. Nor did I mean that the music itself (i.e. strauss waltzes) is inherently schmaltz, rather the setting for the music is pure kitsch. Rieu is selling an image, that's it. Some people like it, I don't.

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There's a lot of artistry that can be found in entertainment, some examples being Richard Tauber or Georg Ots in any operetta, Jan Peerce singing "You'll Never Walk Alone", Thomas Hampson's "Music of the Night", Arthur Fiedler's recordings, Ella Fitzgerald and Maria del Mar Bonet, Frank Sinatra -- the list goes on and on. Rieu's "schmalty pop music" was good enough for Balanchine to have used for four movements of one of his masterworks, "Vienna Waltzes".

A chacun son gout.

ou dégoût

I by no means meant that the two are mutually exclusive - of course they're not! Rather one doesn't listen to Rieu for artistry any more than one watches Somova for taste. Nor did I mean that the music itself (i.e. strauss waltzes) is inherently schmaltz, rather the setting for the music is pure kitsch. Rieu is selling an image, that's it. Some people like it, I don't.

Thanks, ballet_n00b, that was what I took your previous post to mean. There is an element of pop and schmaltz in Johann Strauss and there's a whole lot of schmaltz in Rieu's presentation. I don't mind it most of the time but I can understand reacting with "Not for me, thanks."

The "Gold and Silver Waltz" used by Balanchine in Vienna Waltzes is by Lehar.

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Rather one doesn't listen to Rieu for artistry any more than one watches Somova for taste.

...difference being that Rieu' s performances contain BOTH the intentional kitsh element AND his real knowledge of the music he plays-(which he and his fellow performers do VERY well, BTW).. Somova, on the contrary, besides rising her legs up to her ears, has thousand limitations in terms of technique and style, which makes her a rather poor candidate for the "artistry" term.

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Sorry, I simply cannot take him seriously (nor, I'd imagine, can any other hardcore classical aficionados). He's only one rung above Maksim, Clayderman and Abel. His is "classical" music for the uninitiated/novice (a niche which he shrewdly exploits). If anything it's unfair to compare Somova to Rieu whom I have a feeling is rather the Lang Lang of ballet.

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Rieu may well be conscious of the kitsch in his productions but intentional or not (and I suspect that a considerable part of his audience takes it all straight) there's no denying that it's present. As I mentioned above, I make a habit of watching and enjoying his programs. But it can all be a bit much. :unsure:

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From January 1st to January 1st there seems to be quite a gap-(which is , I confess, the period I spend without his offerings). Other than that, I insist that, instead of a televised parade, I would take his Strauss anytime. It is festive...it is happy, it comes with a celebratory mood-(much needed in the times we're living)-and it does cheers me up a great good deal. And let's not forget the visual part...all those gorgeous Vienna views... :unsure:

For the mentioned "seriousness" element-(which was never, I suspect, Strauss' main intention when writing his waltzes)-I can always return back to my Tebaldi's Tosca recording...probably right after Rieu's performance is over.

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As a classical musician most of my 55 years (till too much arthritis forced me to quit), I must say that I love Andre Rieu's performances :) . They make me happy too. I love seeing people swaying, dancing, and singing along to the music. I love that Rieu takes classical music and makes it approachable to people who may have little or no prior exposure. It's a good thing! He creates a jumping off point for so many people who then go on to explore more and more classical music. For others, he brings them their youth: many people in those audiences are older folks who remember waltzing to the great Strauss pieces, and singing traditional folk tunes. That world is getting lost nowadays, and I'm so grateful to Rieu for reviving it. Classical music need not be lofty to be good; it should suit many settings and need not be confined to only serious discourse. There's nothing wrong with kitsch! Mozart himself knew that!

The Joffrey Ballet once provided me with the same kind of experience. Back in the 1970's, I saw them perform Tharp's As Time Goes By and several other programs in NYC. Up to that time, my only experience with ballet was the year that my ballet teacher (a nun) slapped me across the face when my 6-year old self chickened out backstage and refused to lead my line of dancers out onto the stage. I attended the Joffrey performances only because my boyfriend at the time was a balletomane. To be honest, I had no interest whatsoever in attending that very first performance. But the Joffrey program, while not pure classical ballet, sparked a lifelong interest in ballet, especially the classics.

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