Reu

Reu or Ragau (Hebrew: רְעוּ, Re'u ISO 259-3 Rˁu) in Genesis was the son of Peleg and the father of Serug, thus being Abraham's great-great-grandfather.

He was 32 when Serug was born and lived to the age of 239 (Genesis 11:20), according to the Masoretic text. The Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch state that his age on fathering Serug was 132, and the Septuagint thus gives age at death as 339.

The Book of Jubilees names his mother as Lomna of Shinar (Genesis 10:28), and his wife as Ora, daughter of Ur Kesed (Genesis 11:1). He is said to have been born at the time when the Tower of Babel was begun.

André Rieu

André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (born 1 October 1949) is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Together they have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act, as successful as some of the biggest global pop and rock music acts. For his work, Rieu has been awarded such honours as the Order of the Netherlands Lion by the Netherlands, the Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France, and the Honorary Medal by his native Province of Limburg.

Rieu began studying violin at the age of five. He created the Maastricht Salon Orchestra in 1978, and went on to create the Johann Strauss Orchestra in 1988.

Early life

The name Rieu is of French Huguenot origin. Rieu's father, of the same name, was conductor of the Maastricht Symphony Orchestra. Showing early promise, André began studying violin at the age of five. From a very young age, he developed a fascination with orchestra. He studied violin at the Conservatoire Royal in Liège and at the Conservatorium Maastricht, (1968–1973), studying under Jo Juda and Herman Krebbers. From 1974 to 1977, he attended the Music Academy in Brussels, studying with André Gertler, finally receiving his degree "Premier Prix" from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

La Paloma

"La Paloma" is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by the Spanish composer from the Basque region Sebastián Iradier (later Yradier) after he visited Cuba in 1861. Iradier may have composed "La Paloma" around 1863, just two years before he died in Spain in obscurity, never to learn how popular his song would become.

"La Paloma" belongs to a genre of songs called "Habaneras," a musical style developed in 19th-century Spain that is still today very much present in the form of folk songs and formal compositions, particularly in the Northern Basque Region and East Coast (Catalonia and Valencia) regions of the country. Like all "Habaneras," its characteristic and distinct rhythm reflects the fusion of the local Cuban songs that the Spanish sailors of the time brought back with them from their travels to the island, with the rhythm structure of the flamenco “tanguillo gaditano” (original from Cádiz, Andalusia). Very quickly "La Paloma" became popular outside of Spain, particularly in Mexico, and soon spread around the world. In many places, including Afghanistan, Hawaii, the Philippines, Germany, Romania, Zanzibar, and Goa it gained the status of a quasi-folk song. Over the years the popularity of "La Paloma" has surged and receded periodically, but never subsided. It may be considered one of the first universal popular hits and has appealed to artists of diverse musical backgrounds. There are more than one thousand versions of this song, and that together with "Yesterday" by the Beatles, is one of the most recorded songs in the history of music.