Music for the Masses
Someone I know has started an interesting new blog, Can Speak French, covering non-English chart toppers from the Continent. Today I saw he'd featured a new Dutch single by Marco Borsato, "who I take to be their most popular singer, unless there are others who’ve just had eleven number one hits in a row." Which reminded me of a documentary about André Rieu that I saw back in NL. (That's the thing about staying at other people's, you see stuff on the box you never would otherwise.)
Borsato probably does deserve the most popular singer tag. However, André Rieu is arguably the most popular musician. Though mentioning his name has probably caused my Dutch readers to hide.
Rieu is a violinist who, at one point in his career, was told to go home and play his waltzes for his grandmother. However, thanks to his accessible performances of popular classical pieces, he has become an international superstar. One of his tenets is that classical music need not be conservatively presented. Hence the TV documentary about how he was bringing a HUGE stage replica of Schönbrunn Palace (y'know, where Sissi lived) to Australia. There's an ice rink and everything.
I'd lost track of how popular he'd become, so it was hilarious to see all this and the unprecedented rush for tickets. And apparently, he's just done a cameo for Neighbours.
Borsato probably does deserve the most popular singer tag. However, André Rieu is arguably the most popular musician. Though mentioning his name has probably caused my Dutch readers to hide.
Rieu is a violinist who, at one point in his career, was told to go home and play his waltzes for his grandmother. However, thanks to his accessible performances of popular classical pieces, he has become an international superstar. One of his tenets is that classical music need not be conservatively presented. Hence the TV documentary about how he was bringing a HUGE stage replica of Schönbrunn Palace (y'know, where Sissi lived) to Australia. There's an ice rink and everything.
I'd lost track of how popular he'd become, so it was hilarious to see all this and the unprecedented rush for tickets. And apparently, he's just done a cameo for Neighbours.