André Rieu - J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas BWV 206 & 208 (2008)

Re-creating the romance of a bygone era, violinist and conductor André Rieu emerged in the late 1980s as a latter-day Waltz King, specializing in light classics and Viennese salon music. Rieu came from a suitably musical family: his father was the conductor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra and a conductor at the Leipzig Opera, and most of André's brothers and sisters are professional musicians. The music that filled the household was mostly classical; symphonies, chamber works, and operas provided the major fare. At age five, Rieu began studying violin; later, he trained at the Conservatorium Maastricht from 1968 to 1973 and at the Music Academy in Brussels from 1974 to 1977, ultimately earning his "Premier Prix" degree from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.