.As mentioned in the last posting, I recently visited the city of Chicago. While I enjoyed the sights and sounds of Chicago and stood somewhat amazed at the number of buildings which soared over 70 stories, these were not the primary reasons for our visit. Chicago played host to what has become, at least for now, my all time favorite musical act. It’s hard to classify this organization as a musical group because they are indeed an actual orchestra. So to merely call them an act or a group seems somewhat remiss. The travelling orchestra of which I speak is the Johann Strauss Orchestra (JSO) led by classical violinist Andre Rieu.
In case you hadn’t gathered by now, this entry is going to be about light classical music and the orchestral concert which Mom and I attended. That being said, those of you who aren’t really interested in the concert or classical music might want to go ahead and click that big ol’ X up in the right hand corner because you might find this more than a little boring.
Long term readers may recall a posting several months ago entitled, ”The Music I Like and Why I Like It.” That entry described my first JSO concert experience. This post will tell you about the orchestra in general and this most recent concert. This was the fourth JSO concert I’ve had the pleasure of attending and I can assure you that barring any unforeseen calamity, it will certainly not be my last. The orchestra is based in Holland. Their headquarters is situated in the city of Maastricht which is in the Southeastern portion of the country. They tour world-wide and usually place in the Top Ten as far as box office receipts go. Their last tour had a larger take at the gate than that of the Rolling Stones. So while they are not well known here in America, they sell out arenas and stadiums across Europe, Australia and South Africa.
JSO performs what I think would best be described as light classical music in that you will never hear anything droll or slow. But in addition to light classics they also play some Broadway show tunes and have been known to throw in the odd pop song every now and then as well as American patriotic songs. But the fact remains that JSO is primarily known for their variations and interpretations of the classic waltzes by Strauss and others. They also play a lot of music written for operettas by Twentieth Century European composers such as Franz Lehar and Robert Stolz.
The orchestra is led by Andre Rieu who doesn’t merely stand and conduct the orchestra but actually plays the violin as well. Just as Rieu is not the typical conductor, he doesn’t play a typical violin. His Violin is actually the second Stradivarius to be created by the master violin maker. The instrument was crafted in 1667 and has been valued at several million dollars. To my knowledge, he is also responsible for all of the arrangements and orchestration of the pieces which are performed.
Rieu is very animated and bobs about the stage prompting the crowd for as much participation and enthusiasm as they are willing to give. The last thing Rieu wants is to play to a stoic audience who merely listens and observes. Rieu thrives on a lively audience which gets out of their seats and interacts as much as possible. Essentially, he both craves and incites behavior which would never be tolerated at a traditional symphonic performance.
But make no mistake, Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra is far from being a one man show. The orchestra usually consists of approximately fifty performers, each with their own unique roles, personality and contributions to the orchestra as a whole. To that, add a contingent of six world class opera singers and a choir which usually ranges from five to seven of the most beautiful female voices you’ll ever hear. I have to say that the choir is my favorite component of the performance.
The singers, outside of the choir, consist of three sopranos who each sing one solo during the performance and then there is a trio of male tenors who always sing together. Some of my favorite pieces are the ones which feature all six of the singers on stage at once singing in pairs or as an entire cast. Rieu arranges these vocal and orchestral interactions so wonderfully that it is sometimes hard to believe that there are six individuals singing rather than one.
In case you hadn’t gathered by now, this entry is going to be about light classical music and the orchestral concert which Mom and I attended. That being said, those of you who aren’t really interested in the concert or classical music might want to go ahead and click that big ol’ X up in the right hand corner because you might find this more than a little boring.
Long term readers may recall a posting several months ago entitled, ”The Music I Like and Why I Like It.” That entry described my first JSO concert experience. This post will tell you about the orchestra in general and this most recent concert. This was the fourth JSO concert I’ve had the pleasure of attending and I can assure you that barring any unforeseen calamity, it will certainly not be my last. The orchestra is based in Holland. Their headquarters is situated in the city of Maastricht which is in the Southeastern portion of the country. They tour world-wide and usually place in the Top Ten as far as box office receipts go. Their last tour had a larger take at the gate than that of the Rolling Stones. So while they are not well known here in America, they sell out arenas and stadiums across Europe, Australia and South Africa.
JSO performs what I think would best be described as light classical music in that you will never hear anything droll or slow. But in addition to light classics they also play some Broadway show tunes and have been known to throw in the odd pop song every now and then as well as American patriotic songs. But the fact remains that JSO is primarily known for their variations and interpretations of the classic waltzes by Strauss and others. They also play a lot of music written for operettas by Twentieth Century European composers such as Franz Lehar and Robert Stolz.
The orchestra is led by Andre Rieu who doesn’t merely stand and conduct the orchestra but actually plays the violin as well. Just as Rieu is not the typical conductor, he doesn’t play a typical violin. His Violin is actually the second Stradivarius to be created by the master violin maker. The instrument was crafted in 1667 and has been valued at several million dollars. To my knowledge, he is also responsible for all of the arrangements and orchestration of the pieces which are performed.
Rieu is very animated and bobs about the stage prompting the crowd for as much participation and enthusiasm as they are willing to give. The last thing Rieu wants is to play to a stoic audience who merely listens and observes. Rieu thrives on a lively audience which gets out of their seats and interacts as much as possible. Essentially, he both craves and incites behavior which would never be tolerated at a traditional symphonic performance.
But make no mistake, Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra is far from being a one man show. The orchestra usually consists of approximately fifty performers, each with their own unique roles, personality and contributions to the orchestra as a whole. To that, add a contingent of six world class opera singers and a choir which usually ranges from five to seven of the most beautiful female voices you’ll ever hear. I have to say that the choir is my favorite component of the performance.
The singers, outside of the choir, consist of three sopranos who each sing one solo during the performance and then there is a trio of male tenors who always sing together. Some of my favorite pieces are the ones which feature all six of the singers on stage at once singing in pairs or as an entire cast. Rieu arranges these vocal and orchestral interactions so wonderfully that it is sometimes hard to believe that there are six individuals singing rather than one.
This year I was privileged enough to see the female soloist who has been my perennial favorite. This was the first time I was able to see her live as she does not tour with the orchestra full time. Carmen Monarcha is a native of Brasil but underwent voice training at the musical conservatory in Maastricht, The Netherlands as did many of members of the orchestra.
Normally, Carmen would sing an aria from one of the more popular operas or perhaps a selection from one the operettas that Rieu is so fond of, however on this particular tour, Rieu wanted to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, and perhaps begin to pander to a younger demographic, so she sang Jackson’s “Earth Song.” I am not a fan of either the song or its composer, but I am certainly a Carmen Monarcha fan so I enjoyed the song none the less.
In addition to Carmen, another soprano named Mirusia Louwerse is also prominently featured in the show. Mirusia is an Australian and was actually quite young when she began her training. She won the prestigious Dame Joan Sutherland competition at the age of only nineteen. Mirusia often sings arias from Mozart and other conventional classical composers but for some reason she sung a show tune on this leg of the tour. Again I was disappointed in the song selection, but Mirusia sung a wonderful rendition of “Memory” from Cats. This was one of the songs she sang when I first saw JSO in Oklahoma City a couple of years ago.
The third soprano was somewhat of a guest singer from South Africa named Kimi. She has not been with JSO very long so I do not know what her repertoire consists of but in this outing she sang “Ave Maria.”
The third soprano was somewhat of a guest singer from South Africa named Kimi. She has not been with JSO very long so I do not know what her repertoire consists of but in this outing she sang “Ave Maria.”
“The Three Tenors,” as they are billed consist of Gary Bennett, Bela Mavrak and Thomas Greuel. These gentlemen always appear on stage at the same time. While there may be passages that one of the three will sing as a solo, they generally act as a trio for most of the performance. I was really glad to hear these guys perform a song worthy of their great talent. I had always wanted to hear them perform Rossini’s La Danza in person as it is one of my favorites from the CD’s and this time I was fortunate in that it was one of the three songs they sung that evening along with “I’m off to Chez Maxim” and “Non Ti Scordar Di Me” by DeCurtis.
At some point during each performance Rieu tells the crowd how proud he is of the orchestra and all of the performers which play their part. In this show he arranged two pieces which allowed him to showcase two of his long term musicians who have been with the organization for many years.
Manoe Konings is the principle clarinetist who has been with him since his earliest days. She played a solo in the rousing Jewish folk song Hava Nagila and Tanja Derwhal who is a superb cellist played a solo from one of my favorite composers Camille Saint-Saens, entitled The Swan from his collection of pieces referencing various animals.
There are many different components of the JSO experience but I have to say that ever since the beginning I have been a dedicated fan of the Choir. I guess I would have to say that the choral aspect of the performance is without a doubt my favorite. They add so much texture and depth to the performances of the soloists yet they remain somewhat unnoticed for the most part.
As luck would have it, I was actually sitting on the aisle down which Nicolle walked. As she drew near I am sure I had some deer in the headlights grin on my face and I made eye contact. She looked at me and gave a nod indicating that she realized I was the bumpkin from Target and shot me a really nice smile. Life was good.
The concert progressed and finally came the encores. During the encores rushing the stage is not only accepted, but encouraged. Knowing that Mom would have the time of her life, I drug her to the front and we finished out the concert less than four feet away from the stage. I was able to make eye contact one more time with Nicolle and got that same smile. The concert ended and I went to gas up the Blazer. Even the mundane seems cool when riding that kind of high.
As always, if you’ve made it this far into the posting I know you are a true friend and I thank you for your time. If you ever have the chance to see Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra either on stage or even on PBS I encourage you to do so. While this may not be everyone’s type of music, especially my younger friends, I can certainly say that I enjoy it a great deal.
At some point during each performance Rieu tells the crowd how proud he is of the orchestra and all of the performers which play their part. In this show he arranged two pieces which allowed him to showcase two of his long term musicians who have been with the organization for many years.
Manoe Konings is the principle clarinetist who has been with him since his earliest days. She played a solo in the rousing Jewish folk song Hava Nagila and Tanja Derwhal who is a superb cellist played a solo from one of my favorite composers Camille Saint-Saens, entitled The Swan from his collection of pieces referencing various animals.
There are many different components of the JSO experience but I have to say that ever since the beginning I have been a dedicated fan of the Choir. I guess I would have to say that the choral aspect of the performance is without a doubt my favorite. They add so much texture and depth to the performances of the soloists yet they remain somewhat unnoticed for the most part.
This year there were six members of the choir. While sometimes the members of the choir change from one performance to the next, this performance had the best of the best, at least as far as I was concerned. This year we had Judith Luesink, Anne Rekers, Kalki Schrivjers, Vergenie Henket, Karin Hailn, and my all time favorite JSO Performer Nicolle Steins. This was the first time I was fortunate enough to see Mrs. Steins and I certainly hope it will not be the last. The only other girls from the Choir I wish I could have seen were Donij Van Doorn and Resie Vahsen. To my knowledge Donij is no longer with the organization and I think Resie is only part time at this point but I have nothing to confirm this.
While the concert was great and the crowd was enthusiastic, I have to admit that the high point of my trip took place about three hours before the concert began. I had been at Chicago’s Navy Pier earlier that day and I had gotten a bit of sunburn. The hotel was next to the venue where JSO would be performing and adjacent to both buildings was a Target. Heading back to the hotel, I stopped by the Target to get some aloe for the sunburn and I happened to see several of the JSO performers doing some shopping. Being the typical fan that I am I asked if I could take a couple of candid snapshots and all of them were quite agreeable. These are VERY genuine people.
I snapped pictures of Sanne, the Saxophonist, Rene and Vergenie Henket, Karin, Nadejda (Nadia) and Jennifer Kowalski. I was about to walk out the door when I saw a tall, blonde walking toward the register. At first I thought it was only wishful thinking and the power of suggestion at having seen the aforementioned people as well as First Violinist Jet Gelens, another of my long term favorites, walking about the aisles of Target. But when I heard the pretty blonde lady speak to the cashier in a bit of an accent, I realized that fortune had indeed paid me a visit. I was pretty certain that the person was none other than Nicolle Steins.
Like I said earlier, Nicolle has been my favorite JSO member since the first time I popped in a DVD and settled back to watch. Now don’t get me wrong, I like ALL members of the choir and last year I was lucky enough to meet many of them at a backstage “Meet & Greet” sponsored by PBS, Judith and Vergenie spoke to us at length last year, but for whatever reason, Nicolle has always been my all time favorite. But sadly, Nicolle was not on last year’s tour.
I have to admit that I was pretty nervous when I approached her. Not that I ever look particularly good mind you… but this day was one of my worst. My hair was messed up and I was sunburned and had on a T-shirt from a sports bar. Let’s just say that I was not dressed for success. But none the less I approached her and asked if I could snap a picture and she graciously said I could.
I told her how she was my favorite of ALL performers and I think it was Jennifer Kowalski who suggested that I have my picture taken with Nicolle. I handed over the camera and she did the honors. I thanked Nicolle and Jennifer and then I headed out the door still in a bit of a daze as to what had just occurred. Looking back there were so many questions I wished that I had been able to formulate but I was in such a stupor that I was just glad I didn’t say something really stupid as I have been known to do at times such as this.
After that I just spent the next couple of hours texting Brad and "The Jenn Jenn" telling them of the ordeal and then I showered and put on my suit to head for the concert. For those of you not familiar with the JSO concerts, the orchestra and choir members do not come on stage from behind a curtain or backstage, they actually walk down the aisles and approach the stage from the front. Knowing this I always select aisle seats even if I have to make a sacrifice by taking a seat a couple of rows back.
While the concert was great and the crowd was enthusiastic, I have to admit that the high point of my trip took place about three hours before the concert began. I had been at Chicago’s Navy Pier earlier that day and I had gotten a bit of sunburn. The hotel was next to the venue where JSO would be performing and adjacent to both buildings was a Target. Heading back to the hotel, I stopped by the Target to get some aloe for the sunburn and I happened to see several of the JSO performers doing some shopping. Being the typical fan that I am I asked if I could take a couple of candid snapshots and all of them were quite agreeable. These are VERY genuine people.
I snapped pictures of Sanne, the Saxophonist, Rene and Vergenie Henket, Karin, Nadejda (Nadia) and Jennifer Kowalski. I was about to walk out the door when I saw a tall, blonde walking toward the register. At first I thought it was only wishful thinking and the power of suggestion at having seen the aforementioned people as well as First Violinist Jet Gelens, another of my long term favorites, walking about the aisles of Target. But when I heard the pretty blonde lady speak to the cashier in a bit of an accent, I realized that fortune had indeed paid me a visit. I was pretty certain that the person was none other than Nicolle Steins.
Like I said earlier, Nicolle has been my favorite JSO member since the first time I popped in a DVD and settled back to watch. Now don’t get me wrong, I like ALL members of the choir and last year I was lucky enough to meet many of them at a backstage “Meet & Greet” sponsored by PBS, Judith and Vergenie spoke to us at length last year, but for whatever reason, Nicolle has always been my all time favorite. But sadly, Nicolle was not on last year’s tour.
I have to admit that I was pretty nervous when I approached her. Not that I ever look particularly good mind you… but this day was one of my worst. My hair was messed up and I was sunburned and had on a T-shirt from a sports bar. Let’s just say that I was not dressed for success. But none the less I approached her and asked if I could snap a picture and she graciously said I could.
I told her how she was my favorite of ALL performers and I think it was Jennifer Kowalski who suggested that I have my picture taken with Nicolle. I handed over the camera and she did the honors. I thanked Nicolle and Jennifer and then I headed out the door still in a bit of a daze as to what had just occurred. Looking back there were so many questions I wished that I had been able to formulate but I was in such a stupor that I was just glad I didn’t say something really stupid as I have been known to do at times such as this.
After that I just spent the next couple of hours texting Brad and "The Jenn Jenn" telling them of the ordeal and then I showered and put on my suit to head for the concert. For those of you not familiar with the JSO concerts, the orchestra and choir members do not come on stage from behind a curtain or backstage, they actually walk down the aisles and approach the stage from the front. Knowing this I always select aisle seats even if I have to make a sacrifice by taking a seat a couple of rows back.
As luck would have it, I was actually sitting on the aisle down which Nicolle walked. As she drew near I am sure I had some deer in the headlights grin on my face and I made eye contact. She looked at me and gave a nod indicating that she realized I was the bumpkin from Target and shot me a really nice smile. Life was good.
The concert progressed and finally came the encores. During the encores rushing the stage is not only accepted, but encouraged. Knowing that Mom would have the time of her life, I drug her to the front and we finished out the concert less than four feet away from the stage. I was able to make eye contact one more time with Nicolle and got that same smile. The concert ended and I went to gas up the Blazer. Even the mundane seems cool when riding that kind of high.
As always, if you’ve made it this far into the posting I know you are a true friend and I thank you for your time. If you ever have the chance to see Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra either on stage or even on PBS I encourage you to do so. While this may not be everyone’s type of music, especially my younger friends, I can certainly say that I enjoy it a great deal.
3 comments:
Nice report Bob ... I really enjoyed reading it and what a great time you had!!
Sue
The Harmony Parlor
Yes, Bob! I've made it to the very end :)
Great details! Saw Nicolle so many times??? You lucky guy!
Loved your report Bob. I admire your passion for the JSO.
I was in Chicago a few years ago and agree with your remarks. I was greatly surprised that it was more than I had expected.
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