RTV Maastricht, December 31st 2024, by Erwin Lennarts Translated by Diana D. Le Maastricht gets new city composer Maastricht will soon have a new city composer. On Sunday, January 19, the Maastricht Composers Foundation will announce who will succeed Frank Steijns, who was appointed as the first city composer in December 2022. Steijns has created several compositions over the past two years, including a new song for the 2025 Heiligdomsvaart. Assignment The assignment for the new city composer is: ensure renewal of contemporary classical music; write compositions on current themes, important events or utopian ideas; commissioned or on own initiative; for professional musicians and amateurs; for all citizens and cultures of the city of Maastricht'. The new city composer of Maastricht will also be appointed for two years. Farewell The farewell of the current city composer Frank Steijns and the announcement of the new one will be framed by a concert in the Sint Servaas Basilica. Frank Steijns will then perform his own compositions on the carillon (which can be heard in the Pandhof) and work by the new city composer will sound on the organ.

June 29, 2026 interviewing article from De Limburger. by Ronald Colée, © Annemiek Mommers translation by Ineke, Diana D. Le Frank Steijns has been with the Rieu Orchestra for 35 years: "Without André, I would place my violin on the windowsill like a vase with a flower in it" With five jobs, Frank Steijns is a busy man. The 55-year-old from Maastricht is a violinist with André Rieu’s Johann Strauss Orchestra, city carillonneur of Maastricht, Weert, and Heerlen, and he runs his own music production company. "I work hard, but I have never had to apply for a job a single day." Song lyrics as a guide Every two weeks, we interview a well-known Limburg resident from the world of Media & Culture using song lyrics as a starting point. This time, it is violinist and carillonneur Frank Steijns. The Bilzen native studied violin at the conservatory in Maastricht and violin music theory, and orchestral conducting at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven. At the same time, he trained as a carillonneur in Mechelen. Since 1991, he has been a member of André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra. He combines this position with the role of city carillonneur in Maastricht (since 1994), Heerlen (1995), and Weert (1997). Steijns was also a pianist with the Maastricht Salon Orchestra from 2015 to 2026. The 55-year-old musician is married to opera singer Madieke Schoots. The couple lives in Maastricht. 1.Geneet van ’t laeve langs este kins (Sjef Diederen – Geneet van ’t laeve) (Enjoy life). “I want to, as comedian Youp van ’t Hek once said, 'cheer towards death'. By the age of twelve, I had already been resuscitated twice. Once after I had drowned in a swimming pool, and once during emergency surgery after doctors had ignored appendicitis for two weeks. "Additionally, I was bullied a lot in my younger years, because I was overweight, wore glasses, lisped, and played the violin. After that second resuscitation, I consciously decided to turn life into one big party. "Because of what I have been through, I now possess tremendous resilience, a great ability to put things into perspective, and I see the humor in everything. I enjoy my jobs as a carillonneur and a member of the Johann Strauss Orchestra. Although, regarding the Burgundian aspect (Steijns laughs), my wife Madieke and my weight coach would allow me to ‘enjoy’ things in a slightly more structured way.” 2. As long as he doesn't become a footballer, they might kick him half to death (Boudewijn de Groot – Jimmy) "As for this title: I never did any sports until I was fifty. I weighed the same in my first year of secondary school as I do now. I still remember coming home from school proudly because I had been allowed to call 'start' during the Cooper test. "From the very moment I was five years old and saw my father inaugurate the new carillon of the Sint- Servaas for a Vrijthof packed with people, I wanted to become a carillonneur too. However, when I saw him playing the City Hall carillon a week later for an empty Market, I also knew that I wanted to change that. "I wanted to make the whole world just as enthusiastic about this instrument as I was. That almost became an obsession. But thanks to the André Rieu act where I run into the tower of the Sint-Servaas – and got more than fifteen million views for my rendition of the Motörhead song 'Ace of Spades' – I think I succeeded quite well. "In addition, I am of course really hit with the jackpot; I haven't been unemployed for a single day, because André called the very day after my final exams to recruit me for his Johann Strauss Orchestra. He is more than just my boss; he is also my coach and mentor. Just as he affectionately speaks of a small and large family in relation to his orchestra, I have a small and a big father.” 3. Papa, I'm becoming more and more like you (Stef Bos – Papa) “I sometimes say: I wasn't raised, but drilled, by two incredibly sweet, creative, and musical parents. Before my birth, my father, Mathieu, was on the verge of an international breakthrough as a conductor and concert pianist, but then I arrived and he became a teacher at the music school so he could be home more often. "He was a man with enormous charisma, a natural authority. The ideal father, even though the failure of his dreamed-of career always weighed on him. My mother, Magda, had everything it takes to become an academic, but because she already had three brothers who were studying, that wasn't meant for her. So, she became a schoolteacher. She was strict. A woman with ironclad discipline. A real pitbull. "In Waterschei, she taught a class of sixty children of eighteen different nationalities, not a single one of whom made a spelling mistake by the end of the year. My mother was also one of the founders of remedial education, teaching in Belgium, an educational method for children with learning difficulties. "She was my teacher in the second and third grades of primary school. Do you know what the only conclusion she wrote in my report card, which contained five tens, four nine-and-a-halves, three nines, and an eight? ‘Frank works too sloppily’. "Later in life, she studied at the art academy, which she completed with a ten. But then she went blind, meaning she was barely able to practice her artistic profession. My mother insisted that I also take violin lessons when I was six, because she had wanted to learn to play the instrument herself but had never gotten around to it. "Eventually, I went to the conservatory. Not because I enjoyed playing the violin, but because I was good at it. For that reason, the violin as an instrument probably never became my great love. I like the carillon much more. That is why, after the conservatory, I also went to the Royal Carillon School in Mechelen. And now, so many years later, I am leading the touring life my father missed, and I am the violinist my mother had wanted to become. There, every night on stage, I fulfill not only my dreams but also a little bit of theirs."

04 She masters the art of belonging to me (Frans Halsema – For Her) “At fifteen, I thought I would never get a girlfriend. Until, around my twentieth birthday, the ladies in the orchestra said: you are such a sweetheart, you can have anyone. That’s when I started losing weight, got braces, and glasses with more expensive, thinner lenses. I was a late bloomer, but I have had several relationships since then. The nice thing is that I have managed to maintain a bond of friendship with all my exes. The most important thing I learned from those relationships is that you cannot possess someone, but are actually only allowed to walk alongside him or her. "Eleven years ago, I met Madieke. She went to Prague as a substitute with the Johann Strauss Orchestra. We had good conversations, but after that trip, we lost sight of each other. Until I ran into her a year later at Opera Zuid. During the rehearsal period, we kept bumping into each other for weeks on end at the craziest places and moments. Almost too much to be a coincidence. As if someone pulled on the strings. It felt different, too. Whereas before, I could fall in love with a canary at first sight, here it was immediately a deep-seated feeling. "Madieke was a train I couldn't afford to miss. But then again, I was constantly on tour and she had all sorts of projects in the Netherlands. So, this relationship didn't stand a chance of succeeding anyway. When André heard that, he said: 'Then why don't I offer her a one-year contract?' The rest is history. "We have now been married for six years and we make sure that our relationship never becomes taken for granted. What do I like about her? Everything. She is stunning, she is honest, she can sing beautifully, laugh uncontrollably, and is enterprising in spirit. In addition, she is truly hilariously funny when she—usually in the bath—practices Maastricht dialect words out loud, so she now speaks them almost without an accent. "When I once introduced her to double bassist Dominic Seldis, he said to me: 'Is this your wife? Then you must be rich as shit!' That is exactly how it feels. We are both Capricorns and keep each other well balanced. We understand each other with just a few words, even though we are incredibly different in some respects. I often taste the sweet first and then the sour, whereas with Madieke, it is usually the other way around. "Because we are both musicians, we also understand each other's passion and realize that when you are—as is the case with us—on each other's heels twenty-four-seven, you occasionally feel the need to have time for yourself. Madieke is much more structured than I am. My greatest strength, on the other hand, lies in improvising. That has proven to be an excellent combination of qualities in good times and bad." 5. Stars come; stars go. Only Elvis remains (Gorki – Mia) “Abroad, André is sometimes introduced as the world’s most famous unknown guy. He himself always puts that description into perspective with: who am I next to Frank Sinatra? In a sense, that applies to me too. As a member of the Johann Strauss Orchestra, I get to stand in his shadow. Or as the Australian opera singer Nellie Melba – of the peaches and toast named after her – was once told by conductor Arturo Toscanini: ‘Madam, you may be a star, but in the light of the sun all stars pale.’ "Occasionally my name is mentioned as André’s successor, but that is something I absolutely would not want, nor would I be able to make happen. I am not going to succeed André, nor anyone else. For there are a great many little stars within the orchestra, but there is only one sun.” 6. No more fearful heart than mine (Rob de Nijs – Banger hart) “Because of what I experienced at a young age, I have a physical tendency to be fearful. I don't dare to skate or dive into the canal, and I will never go skydiving either. In fact, not even over a fifty-centimeter vaulting horse at the gym. But I am not afraid of death. Because I have experienced it twice. Everything goes black before your eyes and that’s it. Nothing to it. I found waking up again more exciting. I did find the powerlessness scary, though. That you go headfirst into the deep end as a toddler, literally screaming your lungs out, but only see air bubbles escaping and realize that no one can hear you. Fortunately, they picked me up from the bottom in time. But I never want to go through that again. "What many people don't expect from me is that I have stage fright. But only when I am standing on stage by myself. For instance, André once handed me his violin and jacket with the microphone during a rehearsal and I say: ‘Why don’t you play in my place for a moment?’ That makes me break out in a sweat and start trembling. I used to have that for a long time on the carillon too. Fortunately, that has changed from ‘help, the whole city can hear me’ to ‘wow, the whole city can hear me’. "I also still have nightmares about my violin exam in 1994. I dream that I have to do it over and it goes completely wrong. Fortunately, in the orchestra, André takes that fear off our hands. Because without him, I would just put my violin on the windowsill like a vase with a flower in it. I have fewer problems with playing the piano, because when you press a key, at least sound comes out. That is why I will never play the violin at a wedding, because if you tremble, you don’t make the bride or the groom happy.”

Frank and Madieke in Oslo, June 2024.

Go back to Frank Steijns, page 10, click HERE.

7. Just give me sweet white wine and a pizza with pineapple (Snelle – Pizza with pineapple) “My weight is stable now, but remains a struggle for life. Since I’ve had a nutrition coach, I’ve gone back to cottage cheese and bell peppers. Every day starts with Skyr with blueberries and ends with chocolate with an 80 percent cocoa content. Strikingly enough, I eat much more than before, but mostly protein with vegetables, vegetables, and more vegetables. "Because Madieke is also an entrepreneur at the cooperative supermarket Gedeelde Weelde (Shared Wealth) alongside her job at the Johann Strauss Orchestra, we always eat organic and sustainable. The biggest difference from before is that I now eat what my body needs and not what my sugar crash craves.” 8. Inherit your child's eyes, look through them (Spinvis – Kom terug) “I still possess a childlike wonder. I can look at an ant just like a little child and study all its parts. I also never want to stop being a child and fantasizing. For instance, I am the project leader of the Stichting Toekomstmuziek (Future Music Foundation), a completely new music system where 250 primary school children receive violin lessons during school hours. And when I show such a child a violin and ask ‘what can you do with this?’ and they answer: ‘smash it to pieces’, then I say ‘yessss, how would that sound?’ and the ice is broken. After which that child guards the violin with their life. "What I struggle with a bit more is dealing with electronic devices. Like when the functions of my smartphone have changed yet again after another update. Even though I’ve always said: that never happens to me. But what I do enjoy is playing a trick on an AI program like ChatGPT. By conducting the conversation in such a way that it gets caught in a thought loop from which it cannot escape or completely talks itself into a rut. Let's see if my intelligence beats the artificial one." 9. It is difficult to remain modest when you are as good as I am (Peter Blanker – It is difficult to remain modest) “How satisfied am I with myself? Well, I regularly suffer from imposter syndrome: the feeling that everything I have achieved was due to pure luck. I can do a lot of things, but I also know who I owe them to. "Of course, I got a kickstart from my upbringing and I also realize that I have had a lot of privileges. In addition, I often find pride an inappropriate emotion. I have little ego; I consider myself rather selfless. I meet a lot of people and have respect for those who are just as sweet to the chambermaid as to the hotel manager; who are nice to people from whom they need nothing. Unfortunately, I see the opposite happening too often. I really got that genuine interest in others from my dad. I hope that remains.” 10. Dich kriegs hulp van den tied jong. Den tied sleip dich doardoor (Neet oet Lottum – Hald mich ’s vas) You get help from time; time drags you through it. Song: Hold me tight. “Loss and how I deal with it? That’s a good one. Dad and Mom were once washing an expensive English dinner service together, collected through savings, when my mother dropped the lid of the showpiece—the coffee pot—and started crying. To which my father responded very dryly: ‘Then this is of no use to us either,’ and also dropped the pot on the floor, breaking it. That applies to me too: the loss of material things doesn’t bother me. "With people, it’s a different story, although it is also part of the circle of life: you are born and you die. Of course, I find it a pity that Beethoven and Bach are no longer alive. Didn’t Bach compose something like a thousand works? Well, I would have liked to hear his five thousandth as well. But yes, without transience, life has no value. That is why I find the memento-mori-philosophy—that death is a reason to live more consciously and gratefully—a beautiful thought. For that reason, I try never to say something to someone as a final word that I might unexpectedly no longer be able to rectify.” 11. Enne gojje mins blieft altied leave (Rowwen Hèze – Twieje wurd) (A good person lives forever) “How do I want to live on? Well. Madieke and I have no children, but I do leave behind a few beautiful compositions in which a piece of me can live on. That is why I would find it beautiful if someday – when all the sounds of the Johann Strauss Orchestra’s Vrijthof concerts have faded – someone finds a piece of paper with my notes on it somewhere and brings me to life once more in that way.” 12. Frank Steijns’ own choice: Speaking words of wisdom, let it be (The Beatles – Let it be) “'Let it be' is my favorite song on the carillon. Written in the time of the hippies: why fight for something and put in the effort, because life isn't always something you can shape. There is a famous Jewish joke that goes: 'Do you want to make God laugh? Then tell him about your plans.' But you can't leave everything to chance either. If you want to win the lottery, you still have to buy a ticket. "I pursued three studies simultaneously and have been combining four jobs and a business for over thirty years. For that reason, I haven't had a TV in the house for twenty years either, because I never watched it anyway. Now, for the first time in my life, I have made a choice to take things a bit easier. "I recently stopped being a pianist with the Maastricht Salon Orchestra. I am not worried about what might happen when André stops with the Johann Strauss Orchestra. The most beautiful things in my life have always come my way spontaneously, at exactly the right moment. I have never had to apply for a job for a single day, traveled the whole world, been rejected, but also been allowed to love people intensely. I have never known a boring day in my life. So, let it be."

© Marcel van Hoorn

© Marcel van Hoorn

July 5, 2026 article from L1 Nieuws, by Maan Geraats. © Johan Strijckers Translation by Diana D. Le How Frank Steijns, together with Rieu, renewed the carillon world with a mobile carillon For the general public, he is mainly known as André Rieu's right-hand man. But in addition to violin, he has another instrument that he plays at a lonely height: the carillon. With his instrument—the violin—he has now reached the “highest possible level,” as he himself puts it. “Or you join the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and then you’re at the highest possible level of what we call serious classical music.” Weert, Heerlen, and Maastricht There are not yet a hundred of them in the Netherlands: carillonneurs. A musician playing the carillon, consisting of dozens of tuned clocks. Steijns is one of them. In Weert, Heerlen, and Maastricht, he is the regular man behind the wooden sticks and pedals. Every now and then, he also leaves his violin with André Rieu, and goes for his other beloved instrument. Something Rieu did not suggest himself. "I've said for a long time, 'André, please let me play the carillon.' Then he used to say, "Yes, you're back with your bells." But the keeper wins: in the end, Rieu agreed exactly 20 years ago, during the first edition of the Vrijthof concerts. Mobile carillons And the debut of this extraordinary instrument turned out to be a huge success, says Steijns: “People then asked, ‘Will you come and play that when you’re in Düsseldorf?’ But there’s no carillon in Düsseldorf. So, we designed our own carillon that we can take with us on tour—so we can play anywhere in the world.” This redesigned, reduced-year-old variant of the age-old instrument turned out to be a game changer, Steijns notes: "Carillonneurs are not normally the most progressive people. They sit in a tower from the 17th century and play an instrument from the 17th century. I think we've loosened up quite a bit, by getting that instrument into the 21st century." And that is also the case. According to Steijns, there are now about six mobile carillons. André loses to the clocks Frank can't earn the bread playing the clocks. That still happens with the stringed instrument. But if that were not a factor, he knew which instrument he would choose: "I play the violin because of André in the orchestra. I just want to keep doing Carillon as long as I can walk up the stairs.”

Sharing a July 3, 2026 video of an interview with Frank Steijns by Leon Verdonschot from L1. Transcription of the video interview by Diana D. Le: On the evening of July 2, 2026, the traditional Vrijthof Concerts by André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra kicked off, marking the 20th edition this year. Violinist Frank Steijns has been part of the orchestra for decades and will be speaking about the concerts and his collaboration with Rieu. Leon Verdonschot: "Last night, André Rieu's 20th Vrijthof concert series began. Joining us at the table is the man who has been playing the violin for 35 years—in the Johann Strauss Orchestra—Frank Steijns. "Frank Steijns, violinist in André Rieu’s Johann Strauss Orchestra. A warm welcome. Last night was the very first show, the premiere of the new show. It’s 9 o'clock. You come out on stage, you start playing. When do you know that things are going well?" Frank Steijns: "Yes, I think at the Vrijthof, it’s never been any different. There’s such an atmosphere; we actually know beforehand that it’s going to be good. The buzzing of the audience that tells us what kind of evening it’s going to be. Sometimes it’s a bit quieter, but sometimes there’s a real buzz going through the crowd, and we say, 'Well, this evening can't go wrong.'" LV: "And what kind of buzz was there last night?" FS: "Good. A very good buzz. Yes. The weather was good, and it’s the first time back, and it’s the 20th edition of the Vrijthof concerts, by the way. And then we’re standing there; André moves through the crowd, and everyone is already waving from the terraces—it’s just a fantastic atmosphere. The party has essentially already started before we even reach the stage." LV: "Do you feel any pre-show nerves on a night like that?" FS: "I don't, but André does. He has to carry the whole thing, of course, while we get to sit behind him; and naturally, we’ve rehearsed everything down to the last detail. We’ve been working on that over the past few weeks. "In the past, the start of a new program was pretty exciting—there was a lot of new material. Now, it’s more of a continuation of the previous one. That gives André a bit more peace of mind, too." LV: "It’s all about the fingers—it’s right there in his fingers." FS: "Yes, with the exception of the surprises, of course." LV: "Right, of course. You’ve been working with and for André for 35 years now. What kind of partnership is it? In music, there are all sorts of collaborations. You had Lennon and McCartney—they had a sort of rivalry. Is that your dynamic, or are you more like Simon & Garfunkel? Or is he Suzan and you’re Freek?" FS: "That’s a good one. Well, I think it’s a combination of everything. Well, Frank and André. And I think he has a different kind of relationship with everyone in the orchestra. And we have always a source of inspiration. I set things up, and he decides which balls to hit and which ones not to. I think that’s the dynamic we have." LV: "And he’s the boss. You play second fiddle. Does that joke get made often?" FS: "Absolutely. I do play first fiddle, but he’s the one who really drives it. He’s always the one at the top, after all." LV: "But that’s a dynamic you’re comfortable with, too—that you just make suggestions and he’s the one who ultimately decides." FS: "Yeah, during rehearsals I’m always calling out all sorts of things, and sometimes he picks up on them, sometimes not. But he’s the one who—out of all the suggestions—chooses what happens, and usually it comes from him." LV: "Now, you come from a very musical background, don't you? Your father was a teacher at the music school. Your mother went to art school and got a 10 (top grade) when she graduated. Your wife is an opera singer. Music is your life. "Is it even conceivable to you that there are people—and there are quite a few of them—for whom music is just something you hear in the supermarket, or in an elevator, or coming from a radio?" FS: "Oh, I’m very aware of that. And that’s precisely why the Stichting Toekomstmuziek Maastricht (Future Music Foundation of Maastricht) project—which I was involved with as project leader—is a project where we went into the school with 250 violins to give 250 primary school pupils in Maastricht, violin lessons. Well, that’s an incredible success. And precisely, because I’m aware that there are people for whom music isn't a given. I find it important to be able to pass that on. "Yes, I’m really aware that the level of music in my life isn't something everyone shares." LV: "And what happens when you walk into a classroom like that with a violin—or rather, with 250 violins? What is the children's initial reaction to a violin when they’ve never held one before?" FS: "Well, we handle it in a really fun way. We go into the school as an orchestra. The children come to see us, and we play for five minutes. It’s amazing to see and just before the mood shifts—you know, that moment where they might think, "Okay, we've seen this"—we hand them all a violin and place them within the orchestra. So, ten minutes after they walk in, they’re already holding a violin, and we teach them two simple things that let them play along with the entire orchestra. That’s how the seed is planted. Right, because—let me tell you—playing the violin on its own isn't fun, but playing in an orchestra is. [laughter]" LV: "And do you think anyone can learn it, or do you need something resembling talent?" FS: "I believe André’s teacher—André Gertler—once said: 'Give me a violin and a chimpanzee, and I’ll teach it to play the violin.' "But that isn't really playing the violin. To actually play the violin takes dedication. But we did end up choosing violins for that project because, well, if you walk into a school with four—or rather, 250—trumpets, you might as well close down the rest of the school. So, yeah, it is something you can learn. But then again, talent... Yeah, what is talent? Perseverance is talent." LV: "Was that the key factor for you, too? Always doing it yourself?" FS: "Absolutely. Well, my mother's perseverance was my talent." LV: Your mother?" FS: "Yeah, she was quite strict; she had always wanted to play the violin herself but never managed to. So, I got a violin when I was six, and she made sure I practiced, but in the end, it all paid off." LV: "But that makes it sound like... Did you enjoy it at the start, or was it something you had to do?" FS: "No, I had to do it, and there were plenty of tears shed over that violin. I think that’s a phase every violinist goes through anyway—unless you’re immediately captivated by the instrument. But look, with a piano, if you press a key, you get a sound right away. But with a violin... well, you have to really slog away before you get a decent sound out of it. Yeah. And I’m not really the type to slog away like that. I prefer—well, to live a bit more freely. But the violin has also taught me a lot about discipline and perseverance. So I’m very grateful for that. "And that’s also the reason why we take those violins into schools; because you can learn so much more than just music."

LV: "Yes. Back when you started in the orchestra 35 years ago, could you have ever imagined that you’d be on stage with Frans Theunisz and John Tana?" FS: "No, absolutely not. I used to have a job at a music school. I was doing that alongside my studies. And then André called me one day and asked, "Do you feel like coming along with me tonight?" It was the closing event of the Vierdaagse in Nijmegen (Nijmegen Four Days Marches). The whole square was packed with people. And I sat there and—well, I felt right at home. It made such a huge impression on me. I thought, 'I don't want to do anything else.' So, when André eventually asked 'Do you want to travel the world? I'm offering you a contract,' I cancelled everything else. Everyone said, 'You're crazy! What about your job at the music school?' But the music school is gone now, and André is still here. I’ve never regretted it. It’s truly one big adventure." LV: "You were just talking about traveling the globe—your tour takes you all over the world, of course. You’ve also frequently brought the world to the Vrijthof, featuring so many international artists. I just mentioned Frans Theunisz and John Tana—this year's musical guests. "Was it a deliberate choice to shift the focus away from the international aspect and highlight the Limburg element instead with those two?" FS: "Yes, I think it has to do with the fact that this is the 20th edition of the Maastricht concert, the Vrijthof concert. It is also called Viva Maastricht, and because of that, many local elements have been added. For instance, we’re playing "Il Silenzio", and you see a Limburg brass band moving through the Limburg landscape; and for the finale, we’ve invited back Limburg artists from the past few years, including Frans Theunisz and John Tana. I think it’s nice to go 'back to local' now, but also 'back to basics.' "The Maastricht concerts have long been a sort of showcase for what’s possible with lasers and all sorts of effects. It’s wonderful to see that going back to basics—without all those international artists—works just as well." LV: "Yes. Can you keep it all straight? Do you remember, "Oh, this was night two of year three," or "This was the sixth night of the fourteenth," or is it just one big, blissful blur?" FS: "For me, it’s a blissful blur. But there are people in the orchestra who can say exactly, "Oh yes, that was then and then—that was the night it rained." It depends a bit on the person. André does know, by the way; he has an incredible eye for detail." LV: "He keeps track of it all." FS: "No, no, no. He’s got it all in his head. Yeah, he can say things like, 'Oh no, that was back then; we were playing with the salon orchestra at the time, and we had six concerts in a single day.' We drove from Ostend to there back then. He still remembers it all. I don't." LV: "No, [laughter] you just follow his lead." FS: "Yeah, easy, right? LV: "Thanks Frank, and have a great time tonight—and on all the other nights, too." FS: "It’ll go well. Thank you."