Getmusic

 
The engaging two-and-a-half hour DVD takes in a full concert at the magnificent Belvedere castle in Vienna. It also features André's acceptance of the Austrian Order of Merit at the Belvedere Chateau. Together with the celebrated actress Barbara Wussow, we see the maestro driven through the Old City on the Danube in a horse-drawn carriage, returning yet again to the sites of concerts, which remain unforgettable both to him and his audience.

"What is the secret of the waltz?" asks André Rieu. "Its rhythm makes people sway and move. Its themes carry people away in their sheer melodic sweep. Its world is one of infinite subtlety. Not a mere one-two-three, one-two-three, but endless nuances, endless colours that reflect and refract from its prismatic centre. It is unafraid of nostalgia, unafraid to cast a backward glance, but always has a sense of purpose, an eye to the future. It delights in the simplest of things. It is art that conceals art, and yet it is art for everyman. Inclusive, not exclusive. Yes, my friends, that is the waltz. And that is why it must entwine through our lives. That is why, as Sir Anthony Hopkins so perceptively observed, as a nineteen-year-old, it must go on. And it will. Forever."