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Thursday 6 November 2008

Recapturing the magic

My mother’s favourite catch cry, especially when we were teenagers, was ‘You are not a sheep.’ Following a fashion, simply because ‘everybody else’ did it, was not allowed. As a result, I grew up a fairly individual thinker. I still don’t follow popular trends. My own motto of ‘Trees are not lollipops’ reflects that.

So I have never paid much attention to the row upon row of André Rieu DVDs and CDs in every second shop. After all, he’s just another popular trend. When I started work at the school library and had to catalogue one of his DVDs that had been donated by the Principal (a huge André Rieu fan) it never occurred to me to take it home and see what the fuss was about.

Then Sausage’s teacher borrowed it. A few days later we were in the Post Office when Sausage suddenly piped up “Look, Mum, there’s André. Can we buy him?” Sure enough, there on the shelf were a hundred André’s smiling at the world in a hundred different poses. I put her off with a ‘Maybe for Christmas’, but after that we couldn’t go in the Post Office without the same request. But she particularly wanted ‘The Flying Dutchman’, the one her teacher had borrowed from the library and it wasn’t amongst the ones on the shelf.

At school, I asked the Principal where he had bought it. That started it, my ruin! The next day he brought me an André Rieu DVD to borrow and now I’m absolutely hooked. As a Uni student I went to every Western Australian Symphony Orchestra concert that happened. I saved for months to sit on the floor at the front of a John Williams concert. I went to ballets and operas. Then I married P, who has no interest in classical music whatsoever, and moved to the country where the chances of seeing someone like André Rieu are remote. I’d forgotten the joy of classical music. I’d forgotten the pictures it paints and the stories it tells in the mind and the soul. But I watched that DVD and it all came back.

I’ve fallen off the wagon. Yesterday I went and bought a different DVD. Today I bought a CD. I tell myself I’ve been working extra days lately so I’m allowed to splurge a little on myself. I tell myself I'm educating my children. They really like his music. Even Eldest who normally pulls a face and leaves the room when I put my music on, is happy to watch A.R. Who knows, I might even convert P! So that's a good excuse isn't it? But the truth is I could happily go out and buy the whole shelf-load of André Rieu albums at the Post Office. I must stop!

I need help though. Yesterday on Youtube I discovered this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMPcjYLv70o
It’s one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard. It made me cry and I don’t generally cry easily over music. But I can’t find out what it is. The title ‘André Rieu and Lily’ doesn’t help. Someone has just put the piece of music with the photos and called it that. Can anyone tell me what it is? Please? Before I spend my entire year’s wages on André Rieu albums trying to find it?

7 comments:

C.R. Evers said...

LOL, Kate!

Enjoy your new vice.

If you go to You Tube, you can click on the user name of the person that posted the video. In this case, it looks like it's maria0914 that posted this one. Once you are in maria0914's profile, there is a "send message" button so you can send her a message.
I bet she knows the name of it.

have fun! :0)

Christy

Anonymous said...

This beautiful music is titled "I Love You" and was composed by André and his brother Jean-Phillipe. You can see him perform this on the "Romantic Paradise" DVD. It's one of my favorites.

Kelly Polark said...

That was a beautiful piece, almost sad sounding. I am a major rock fan, but played classical to my children when they were infants. I also played it in my classroom when I taught grade school. I need to revisit classical more often! THanks!

Anonymous said...

Here is a link to a YouTube video of him performing this...it's beautiful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clQzsJcyDQo
Hope it works.

Kate said...

Yeehah! Anonymous, thank you a million times!

Now, can I sneak another AR DVD into the house without my husband noticing...maybe in a brown paper bag?

Luc2 said...

You know of course that Andre Rieu is a Dutchman! Yes, we not only have great cheese, beer and ehm, soccer players, but also some world-famous musicians.
If you love classical piano, check out Wibi Soerjadi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fova2k-yEdA

Kate said...

Yes, I know he's Dutch, Luc. It is, of course, his greatest attraction! ;)

I don't think of cheese, beer, ehm (what's that?) and soccer players when I think of the Netherlands. I've always imagined tulips, canals and windmills (and little boys with their fingers in walls, of course). But the DVD I bought has lots of shots around Limburg in it, so I now know better. It's rather beautiful. I'm going to have to visit one day, aren't I?

Wibi Soerjadi can certainly tickle the ivorys! How does he play like that without tangling his fingers?
But I don't suppose I'm likely to find his DVDs in my local post office!