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For the first time his brother speaks about the tragic death of his father.
Heavy strokes of fate and also great suffering are part of life. But to accept that is not always easy.
It is a summer's day in Maastricht (Holland), where we visit the younger brother of André Rieu (62), the composer Jean-Philippe (55). The welcome is warm, his home cozy. Yes, family life is intact here.
But that was not always the case with the Rieus. This is what André's brother writes about in his book "The Discovery of Freedom" - and in an interview with us he talks about the sad family secret for the first time. Great suffering shook the family. Like the death of the father 20 years ago. A dramatic experience for André Rieu and his brother.
Jean-Philippe: "Dad suffered locked-in syndrome. From one minute to the next, he was paralyzed, trapped in his own body and could only move his eyes. He could barely speak, stopped talking - all triggered by a brain hemorrhage. A hell of a lot, because you could see in his eyes that he still understood everything. But he could not communicate with us anymore. That was no life anymore. "
André Rieu senior died shortly after swallowing a tooth at night. A cruel death by suffocation. A shock to the brothers. But not the first. For the fate of their sisters was not easy for them either.
Jean-Philippe relates: "Our oldest sister Cilia became schizophrenic when she was young. She was born in 1946, at a terrible time after the war, and was treated barbarically. She says every day that she is glad she is still awake, that she can get up. It is terribly sad. "
One year younger Teresia (64) also fell ill: "She had a burn-out some time ago and was burned out. But now she's fine. "
And then there were the wild times of the brothers. André Rieu, then 18, and Jean-Philippe almost killed each other at the time: "There was a nocturnal car ride that almost killed us. Intently, André and I sought the suspense and went so close to the limit that we almost shot over it. "
These were the closest months of the brothers. After that, they moved away from each other. In 2004, they finally went their separate ways, both professionally and privately, "because it just did not work out between us anymore."
And today? What is his contact with the family? "We have no family celebrations, " says Jean-Philippe Rieu. "The first and last family celebration was the 40th wedding anniversary of my parents. In 1985 ... "
