Andre Rieu
and his Johann Strauss Orchestra
And The Waltz Goes On (2011)
If ever there was a segment of the musical-listening populace that make Pitchfork hipsters seem like fourteen year old One Direction fans, it's classical music lovers. Ever since the rise to power of Dutch violinist Andre Rieu, the classical music world has fallen over itself desperately trying to invalidate his extraordinary success. Classical music stations refuse to play his material, and his concerts are frequently subject to snide criticisms that he is destroying the classical music concert experience.
Of course, Rieu himself does little to help this, boasting that his orchestra are SUPER GREAT AND KEWL and often attacking both his critics (stuffy musical elites) and other musicians (NOT UP TO HIS LOFTY STANDARD). In short, it seems Rieu is a wanker...but a successful wanker.
Remarkably, amongst the glut of live albums he has released (more live albums than the number of ET Atari 2600 cartridges buried in a New Mexico landfill), there have also been some studio works. This is one of them - 2011's And The Waltz Goes On. It's that album that I, with my limited knowledge of classical music, have tackled today.
I really wish I hadn't.
The Album
It's a shitload of waltzes.
What more can I say? This album is Rieu's collection of assorted waltzes from 'around the world', that world consisting of:
- Austria
- Germany
- Finland
- France
And that's it. Sure, there's a waltz written by Rieu and his first violinist, Frank Steijns, about New Zealand but it's not a waltz from New Zealand, is it?
Anyway, to the music. One thing that Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra (AHJSO) do well is bring out emotion in the music - romantic waltzes are sweet, hopeful and lingering, sadder waltzes bubble with cellos and horns, and mournful violins, while the more bombastic, grandiose works overflow with explosions of percussion. There are also some songs of note on the album, either due to being covers of non-waltz tracks or because of guests.
One of those is the album's namesake track, And The Waltz Goes On. Composed by actor and occasional dabbler in classical composition, Sir Anthony Hopkins, it contains several distinct movements, mostly being of a very sombre, depressing tone, though there is briefly a brighter movement in the middle of the song. It's a great example of sonata form, and, it must be said, one of the best pieces on the album. The French waltz, La petite valse, is bright and bubbly, containing several nice touches on the accordion for that extra French feel. The undisputed highlight however is that aforementioned 'New Zealand' waltz, Dreaming Of New Zealand, a beautiful piece (described on Rieu's website as 'dreamlike', and that's an accurate description) made absolutely stunning by Kiwi soprano Hayley Westenra's magnificent singing performance. Say what you like about Rieu but he and Steijns composed a great piece here.
The rest of the album is wall to wall waltzes (the German/Austrian ones are my favourites, all bombast and fun and classically Viennese) and really, really average covers of other songs. The version of Are You Lonesome Tonight, for instance, shows that if you strip away the vocal, what's left is a simplistic, even quite boring song. The only covers here that do a good job of the original are the theme from Swan Lake, and Music Of The Night, which is from the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack, and features a gorgeous violin solo.
Overall, it left me with the impression that it's a cash-in album; go in, record some classic waltzes, find a few new pieces and fill the rest with well-known 'popular' versions of tunes so that the oldies can go, "ooh I can't wait to hear how Andre tackles Singin' In The Rain" (the answer, by the way, is quite badly.)
The Verdict
I think the next time I look at a classical album, it'll be something that has been originally written in its entirety, not Mr Classical Man And His Orchestra Peeps Play You Other People's Work For Money. This album is dull, uninteresting and, a few original pieces aside, unoriginal.
But so long as Rieu keeps pumping out populist stuff, who cares? He's found a way to return classical musicians (well, maybe pluralising is being generous, it's pretty much just him) to the pop star status of yesteryear, and hooking heaps of people into classical sounds, even if it's not stuff like classical's own metal musician, Richard Wagner.
My rating: **
Standout Tracks
Dreaming of New Zealand (with Hayley Westenra)
And The Waltz Goes On
La petite valse
Tomorrow's album is Florence And The Machine's Lungs. As a casual Js listener I've been mighty savage on Florence and her machine, so tomorrow I'm going to give it a fresh ear and a proper listen.
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