ANDRE RIEU ANNOUNCES US TOUR
Tour Kicks Off May 1 In Dallas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—Hot on the heels of the tremendous success of his latest CD/DVD release, “Tuscany”, Andre Rieu, has announced the first of his two North American Tours for 2005. Beginning May 1 in Dallas/Ft Worth Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra will visit 17 U.S. and Canadian cities. Rieu’s popularity grows with every new release thanks to extensive exposure on PBS. Released on the Denon Classics label in September, “Tuscany” was both a hit pledge drive special for PBS last year and a chart topping CD reaching #2 on the Billboard Classical Chart for 8 straight weeks. He was also named as one of the five top Classical Artists of the Year by Billboard in their ‘2004 The Year in Music’ issue. Andre Rieu will conduct and perform with a full orchestra and soloists for this extended tour.

Tour Dates are as follows: 5/1 Dallas/Ft. Worth; 5/3 Kansas City, MO; 5/4 St. Louis, MO; 5/5 Peoria, IL; 5/6 &7 Chicago, IL; 5/9 Detroit, MI; 5/10 Cleveland, OH; 5/11 Cincinnati, OH; 5/13 Pittsburgh, PA; 5/14 Baltimore, MD; 5/15 Philadelphia, PA; 5/16 Trenton, NJ; 5/17 Hartford, CT; 5/18 Durham, NH; 5/21& 22 Montreal; 5/23 Ottowa; 5/24 Toronto.

Filmed in picturesque Cortona,, “Tuscany”, features the performer along with the Johann Strauss Orchestra and soloists performing romantic classics from the main courtyard of the historic Tuscan town. With his Holland-based orchestra, Andre Rieu has electrified audiences worldwide with his unique musical vision—blending classical and pop elements, rhythm and dance into a charismatic event. It’s a vision that has solidified Rieu’s reputation as one of the premier live performers “Tuscany” captures the essence of the region in musical arrangements that evoke romance and timeless beauty.

Born into musical family (his father was a conductor), Rieu became very familiar with the world of classical music at an early age. He fell in love with the violin immediately after his first lessons at age 5. Rieu’s performances and charismatic showmanship aim to sweep the audience up into the joy of the music, creating an interactive emotional and physical bond unique to the classical concert circuit. He is a platinum and multi platinum artist in many European countries and has won the prestigious ( pull from the award list you have ). His many world tours have left him a legion of dedicated fans the world over. 2004’s successful U.S. tour will be followed up by a Spring 2005 visit by the conductor and his orchestra to America’s Eastern cities and a West coast swing in December 2005.

Denon Classics is a division of the Savoy Label Group which is the North American unit of Columbia Music Entertainment (formerly Nippon Columbia), the oldest music company in Japan. Newly reorganized and now headed by Chairman Strauss Zelnick, Columbia Music Entertainment has reemerged as a significant force with a stable of newly signed platinum-selling artists.