The Sunday Times - UK (2021-11-28)

22 November 28, 2021The Sunday Times

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I

was born in Maastricht, one of

the oldest cities in Holland. I

live in Maastricht and I’m going

to die in Maastricht — but not

yet. I feel like a citizen of the

world because I’m usually on the road

175 days a year, but it’s important to

me to have roots. The people know

me here and I speak their language.

Why Maastricht?

It’s a fascinating city. It was founded

by the Romans so there are many

beautiful old buildings. The people

here are internationally orientated;

they speak many languages. They also

do things from the heart.

You own the Castle de Torentjes in

Maastricht. Do you live there?

No; I live in a 150-year-old house in a

neighbouring street. Three years ago

my wife, Marjorie, and I decided to

install a lift for our old age there and

the only suitable place was against an

outside wall. We didn’t want to walk

outside to use it, so we built a large

kitchen around it. My wife said, “I

don’t like big kitchens, from now on

you’ll do the cooking” — and I do.

Why did you buy a castle?

I grew up reading Tintin and in one of

the books he and Professor Calculus

sold an invention and bought a castle.

There was a picture of them walking

towards it and I remember thinking I

wanted to live there.

As a child I used to visit the castle I

now own, for piano lessons. I hated

my teacher and the castle was dark,

damp and depressing, but years later I

told my wife I would like to own it. She

said: “In that case, you had better sell

some records.” I did and I bought it 26

years ago. Back then it was divided

into three sections, which I acquired

piece by piece. I use the castle to

ANDRÉ RIEU PRODUCTIONS; HPBFOTOS/ALAMY

TIME AND SPACE THE WAY WE LIVE NOW

ANDRÉ RIEU

The violinist on his Dutch upbringing

and why you should never buy a castle

promote my concerts. The Americans

come over to interview the King of the

Waltz living in his very own castle.

What is its history?

The kitchen, the oldest part, dates

back to 1452. The musketeer and

swordsman D’Artagnan ate his last

breakfast there before taking a musket

ball in the throat in the Siege of

Maastricht in 1673.

Have you made many changes?

I’m renovating the entire building

because it’s built from soft stone, but

no sooner have I repaired one half

than I need to start again, repairing

the other half. I’ve replaced the roof

and all the woodwork and restored

much of the interior decoration.

Never buy a castle.

How would you describe your

approach to renovation?

It’s the approach I took when

rearranging Ravel’s Boléro. The

original piece is 15 minutes long, but I

changed the tempo and made six

minutes out of it. I tried to retain the

atmosphere of the original with its

magnificent crescendo — and that’s

what I’ve done with the castle, but it

has to be rebuilt because otherwise it

would fall apart.

Have you built anything in the

grounds?

Yes, an orangery. It’s gothic in style

and filled with tropical birds and, at

certain times, rare butterflies. I’ve

also built a cloister. I’m not religious

but cloisters bring me peace.

How would you describe your

childhood home?

Until the age of 11 I shared a small

house in Maastricht with my five

siblings, my parents and my

grandmother. My father was an

orchestral conductor. He was a

conductor at home too. He never

showed love or said he was proud of

me. My mother was worse. I think they

were jealous because within three

weeks of picking up the violin, aged

five, I could make a beautiful tone.

How was your lockdown?

Expensive — I have 120 people on my

payroll. My orchestra and singers

usually perform 100 concerts a year.

Interview by Angela Wintle

André Rieu’s new album, Happy

Together, is out now. Christmas With

André is in cinemas nationwide on

December 4 and 5. He tours the UK

from April 20 next year; andrerieu.com

Top: André Rieu in Castle de Torentjes, which he has owned for 26 years,

also pictured above. Top inset: the Dutch city of Maastricht

joinery (floors and door

architraves). It doesn’t sound

like there is major subsidence

or dilapidation such as

woodworm or failed wall

bearings, as you say the floors

are not unstable and do not

creak. I suspect the movement

is historic, possibly partly

occurring when the property

was converted. Your

surveyor’s comment that the

slope is “consistent with the

age of the property” is

appropriate. It’s irritating, but

not a serious problem.

The best long-term remedy

is “sistering”. Any competent

carpenter should be able to do

it. It involves lifting the

floorboards and fixing

additional level floor joists to

the sides of the existing floor

joists. The floorboards or a

new timber floor are then

fixed on top for a level finish.

The skirting, door and

architrave may also need

adjusting. It should cost

£2,000-£3,000 plus VAT per

room (or £80/sq m to £120/sq

m). I don’t consider this work

structural, so I see no reason

for a party wall agreement,

but check your lease/freehold

agreement first.

Nick Cryer, founder,

Berkeley Place

Send questions to

homehelp@sunday-

times.co.uk. Advice given

without responsibility

IS THERE A

BUDGET

SOLUTION

TO LEVEL MY

SLOPING

FLOORS?

Q

I recently bought

my first flat: a

Victorian two-bed

maisonette in

southeast London. The

building has been split into

a basement flat and my

upstairs flat. I viewed it

twice and didn’t notice the

sloping floors. The slope is

noted on the survey, but the

only comment was

“consistent with the age of

the property”. The floors

don’t creak and seem

stable, but I work from

home and need an even

surface to work from. The

past few weeks I’ve

developed RSI which I put

down to correcting how I

sit. I spoke with a structural

engineer who said I’d need

a party wall agreement with

the basement flat to get the

joists redone. I am not sure I

can afford it. Help!

Katie Hithersay

A

Period properties are

renowned for sloping

floors. They were built

over a hundred years ago,

so the ground below the

load-bearing walls will have

changed and settled, usually

evidenced by the

misalignment of internal

HOME

HELP

READERS’ CLINIC

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO MAKE USE OF OLD

RIPPED SOCKS AROUND THE HOUSE?

Laura Grossman,

Surrey

They’re great for

cleaning Venetian

blinds. Dampen, put

one over each hand and

just work your way along

the slats.

Geraldine Blake

I keep any socks with holes

to use as mittens for

cleaning or polishing.

KimB

Try stuffing your shoes with

them to keep them in shape.

Norma Neville, London

I put old socks and odd

socks inside one large knee-

length sock to make a door

draught excluder. Bonus: if

the match of an odd sock

turns up later, I can reunite

the happy couple!

Betty Smyth

My husband uses an old

toothbrush, old socks and

underwear to clean small

parts on his bicycle.

Ultimate recycling!

Kath T

If the socks are reasonably

thick, use them to pad out

the end of unpadded

coat hangers. The

hangers are then

suitable to hang

heavier items of

clothing. Wrap the

socks in place with an

elastic band or hairband.

Maggie Moffat

FUTURE QUESTIONS

lHow can I clean

doggie slobber from

my unvarnished wooden

doors and floors?

lI have ceramic Cooks

Traditional storage jars/

canisters with black tops.

The tops are now sticky and

peeling. How do I restore the

tops to new?

Reader’s tip of the week

A Swiffer is brilliant

for cleaning floors but

the disposable cloths

contain plastic so are not

very environmentally

friendly. Knit your own

washable cloth at

themakeyourownzone.com.

Isabel Ainsworth,

Lincolnshire

Send tips and questions to

homehelp@sunday-

times.co.uk. Advice given

without responsibility

*