Long live the king of waltz

Get ready to clap, jump and have a rollicking good time when Dutch violinist-conductor Andre Rieu performs in Shanghai.

Andre Rieu is "another name for waltz", a Chinese music critic has said.

The Dutch violinist-conductor and his Johann Strauss Orchestra play the waltz like no other group, according to Rudolph Tang. Tang says: "He is a dream maker; he is the king of waltz."

Rieu will make his China debut on April 12, at Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena. In contrast to the serious and silent experience of other classical concerts, audiences should get ready to sway with the conductor and orchestra, hum along, clap and even jump up and down.

Rieu has had very successful tours in many countries of Europe and other parts of the world since he founded JSO in 1987. He was involved in a waltz revival, encouraging greater public interest in the genre.

At Rieu's concerts, women musicians wear giant hoop skirts in bright colors, and men wear sashes on their shoulder. "He has had great success reproducing the ambience of the early 20th-century Belle Epoque," Tang says.

Rieu and JSO's playing brings audiences back to the golden age of Europe, before World War I, when Europe was wrapped in an optimistic atmosphere, with confidence in the future, and great breakthroughs were achieved in art, science and technology. Johann Strauss was the Elvis Presley of the time. People used to dance to his waltz until they collapsed.

"This Shanghai concert marks his first visit to Asia," says Wu Liangyu, a staff member with Shining On Culture Co, Ltd, the company responsible for the promotion of the much-anticipated gig in Shanghai.

"He has high expectations for the Asian market, and is ready to take some financial risks as audiences here are not familiar with his act. Andre chose to give the performance in the Mercedes-Benz Arena rather than a traditional concert hall, because he wanted a different experience."

Rieu was born to a musical family in 1949. His father was a conductor, and he started to learn to play the violin at 5. As a child, "I remember the huge orchestra and the wonderful sound it made ... but even then I can remember being surprised at the somber atmosphere during the concerts. Everybody looked so serious. You weren't supposed to cough or laugh, even though the music seemed to me to radiate so much joy!" Rieu says on his official website.

He believes this atmosphere intimidates people and keeps them away from classical music, and he set out to create an orchestra that is different.

"You'll see me and the orchestra, and the audience, too, all having a lot of fun together," he says.

The internationally awarded violinist has managed to maintain high quality for the orchestra and music, Tang says. Rieu and JSO have won a number of awards together, including two world music awards. Recordings of these concerts have gone gold and platinum in many countries.

Traditionally violinists and pianists also worked as the conductor of the orchestra, but now only a handful of musicians carry on with the practice and Rieu is one of them.

Rieu has involved some incredible people with his act, Tang says. Among his repertoire, And the Waltz Goes On has been composed by the Oscar-award winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins.

For his performance in Shanghai, German athlete Britta Heidemann will work as the interpreter onstage. Heidemann is a world champion in fencing and won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Rieu will play a 1667 Stradivarius violin. More than 60 members of JSO will be on tour with him in China.

If you go:

Mercedes-Benz Arena, 1200 Expo Avenue, Pudong New Area, Shanghai.

7:30 pm, April 12.

021-5150-9199.