Amore
AMORE is André’s tribute to love, the love for music and for both of his families : the small one, his wife and children – and the big one, the Johann Strauss Orchestra. André about Natasha’s Waltz “When my wife Marjorie was pregnant with our second baby we saw the world famous movie War and Peace. One of the main roles, played by Henry Fonda, was the very sympathetic Pierre who cannot understand why people have to make war. And suddenly both of us knew the name for our new baby: Pierre! So funnily enough, Pierre was named after Henry Fonda! And then some time ago our eldest son Marc, who is a great admirer of film scores, suggested I play the beautiful Natasha’s Waltz from this movie.” André about Highland Cathedral This year we celebrated 30 years of the Johann Strauss Orchestra. For 3 decades not only have we been making music but we’ve also been travelling the whole world together, like one big family. We share our thoughts and feelings, the happy as well as the sad ones. About 16 years ago our clarinettist Manoe Koning became very ill, she had breast cancer. But her will to survive and to continue making music together with all of us gave her the courage and strength to overcome this illness. The magnificent Scottish song Highland Cathedral, in which Manoe plays the solo bagpipe, is a tribute to my orchestra and the love we all feel for one another.
