What is the name of the Dutch violinist, conductor, arranger, and music producer?

André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (born October 1, 1949, in Maastricht) is a Dutch violinist, conductor, arranger, and music producer.

Since the mid-1990s, Rieu has toured the world with his "Johann Strauss Orchestra" (approximately 60 musicians). Rieu plays a violin by Antonio Stradivari, and previously a Guarnerius copy by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. His tours in Germany were made possible by appearances on Karl Moik's "Musikantenstadl," a popular German music television show, with whom he was close friends.

In 2009, in addition to his usual concerts in large concert halls, Rieu performed in stadiums worldwide as part of his "World Stadium Tour." For this tour, he used a nearly life-size replica of Schönbrunn Palace as a backdrop for the orchestra and theatrical performances, all projected onto large screens. The Vienna State Opera Ballet and the Vienna Volksoper also performed. A regular feature of the concerts is the performances of various guest artists, such as the Platinum Tenors, the Berlin Comedian Harmonists, and sopranos Carmen Monarcha and Mirusia Louwerse.

Since 2005, André Rieu, together with a rotating cast of guest artists, has been organizing open-air summer concerts in the central Vrijthof square in his hometown of Maastricht. From an initial three dates, the event has grown to twelve concerts annually, with 12,000 visitors attending each evening in July.