Popular Culture Heroes and Visions of Europe: Andre Rieu's Waltz Politics

The wider concern of this contribution is to add to an understanding of the political dimensions and dynamics of heroes of popular culture. Different from mainstream politics (and politicians) in many European countries, performers of popular culture have the potential to captivate people and to create collectives (and, by implication, societal boundaries). This may account, for instance, for the increasing number of celebrities - singers, football players, actors - turned politicians. Popular culture collectives are not merely about entertainment: the moods, intensities and rhetorics employed may carry political dimensions as well.

This presentation will focus on the politics played out in one particular instance of popular culture: the performances of André Rieu, the violist and conductor known as ‘the world’s King of the Waltz’. André Rieu is an artist of world fame, but with a special relation to Europe. With his Johan Strauss Orchestra, Rieu evokes a nostalgic image of a nineteenth century upper class Europe, an imaginary that attracts millions of people from many different countries. This transnational dimension gains special currency during the annual series of performances in Rieu’s hometown Maastricht (the Netherlands). Based on ethnographic research conducted during the 2014 Maastricht concerts, the presentation will address Rieu’s usual proclamations of messages of peace and the turn his traditional highlighting of the national constituencies among the audiences took in the context of the Ukraine crisis.