‘Music was my first desire’: Anthony Hopkins, 88, to release classical album ‘Life Is a Dream’ with Gustavo Dudamel

A Lifelong Passion Realised

Sir Anthony Hopkins, 88, has signed a record deal with Decca Classics, the prestigious classical label, to release an album of his own compositions. Titled ‘Life Is a Dream’, the project brings together works written across six decades, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of Grammy-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Hopkins, who began playing the piano at age four, described the album as the culmination of a passion that predates his acting career.

Music was my first desire, my first wish. I’ve been composing music all my life. Some of these pieces have lived with me for decades, and I still find myself returning to them.

The recordings took place in April 2026 at Alexandra Palace, London, featuring the Philharmonia with soloists: cellist Gregorio Nieto and classical pianist Sergio Tiempo. The Bach Choir and the Boy Choristers of Winchester Cathedral also contributed. Laura Monks, president of Decca, described the sessions as a once-in-a-lifetime experience that highlighted Hopkins’ deep knowledge of classical music.

The First Single: ‘Bracken Road’

The first single, ‘Bracken Road’, was released on digital platforms on 10 July. Decca describes it as a nostalgic musical portrait of the streets, meadows, farmland, and mountains surrounding the Hopkins family home in Margam, South Wales, during the 1940s. The piece is part of a suite for solo piano and orchestra and was originally drafted in 1963, when Hopkins was a young theatre actor improvising on the piano before rehearsals.

Collaboration with Dudamel and Virtuosos

Hopkins expressed deep admiration for the musicians who brought his compositions to life. He singled out Dudamel’s contribution, saying the conductor transformed each note with profound meaning.

My deepest gratitude and respect go to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, whose artistry is an integral part of this musical journey. With the graceful precision of his baton, he transformed each note with profound and indelible meaning, creating a pictorial landscape that invites the listener to feel and imagine something uniquely personal.

Dudamel, in turn, praised Hopkins as an exceptional artist whose creative voice transcends any single medium, noting that the same depth of imagination, humanity, and emotional truth that defines his work on stage and screen is present in his music.

A Composer’s Hidden History

Hopkins’ musical roots run deep. He was playing Beethoven and Chopin just a few years after his first piano lessons, and by adolescence he was composing music for local theatre productions. For much of his life, he kept his scores private. The first public performance of one of his works came in 2011, when violinist and conductor André Rieu performed a waltz titled ‘And the Waltz Goes On’ in Vienna. A year later, Hopkins released his first album, ‘Composer’, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, earning a Classic Brit Award. He later performed the programme ‘Life Is a Dream’ live with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Saudi Arabia in 2025.

The new album, containing 12 tracks, will be released on 21 August. Other pieces include ‘My Fatherland’, inspired by traditional Welsh melodies, and works reflecting Hopkins’ love of cinema, his wife, and his niece. For the actor, who once said he became an actor almost by default after hoping to join the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama as a musician, the album represents a return to his original dream.