Sir Anthony Hopkins has signed with Decca Classics to release ‘Life is a Dream', a collection that brings together a selection of orchestral works written across more than six decades.
After a lifetime of composing, Hopkins shares his most personal musical project to date. Performed by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra, the album presents new recordings of original works inspired by Hopkins’ family, Wales and a lifetime of experience.
Known around the world as one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, Hopkins has maintained a parallel creative life as a composer since childhood. Long before acting became his profession, music was his first passion. Born in Port Talbot, Wales, he began playing the piano at the age of four and was performing Beethoven and Chopin just a few years later. He started improvising as young as six years old, and was composing music for local plays as a teenager in the 1950s.
“Music was my first desire, my first wish,” says Hopkins. “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 new recording project features works written across different periods of Hopkins' life, revealing a composer whose music shares the same emotional depth and storytelling that define his screen career. Here is an intimate musical memoir shaped by loved-ones, imagination, and heritage. Several pieces draw directly on his Welsh upbringing and the landscapes of his boyhood, while others reflect important people and experiences that have accompanied him over the years.
The first piece of music to be released is ‘Bracken Road' from Hopkins' 1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra. Inspired by childhood memories of Margam, South Wales, it is a nostalgic musical portrait of the streets, meadows, farmland and mountains that surrounded his family home in the 1940s.
Originally conceived as a song while Hopkins was a young actor at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1963, the melody emerged during quiet mornings improvising at an upright piano backstage before rehearsals. Its blues-inflected character reflects the influence of the Harry James Orchestra and Jackie Gleason's lush orchestral ballads, while the orchestration pays tribute to the slow movement of Elgar's First Symphony, with soaring strings, muted trumpet, clarinet and solo piano creating a warm, reflective soundscape.
Sir Anthony Hopkins says of the signing, “My whole life is a dream. Signing with Decca is the honour of a lifetime. It has been a true privilege to collaborate with the distinguished Philharmonia Orchestra and the virtuoso soloists, cellist Gregorio Nieto and classical pianist Sergio Tiempo. 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.”
Gustavo Dudamel says, “Sir Anthony Hopkins is one of those rare artists whose creative voice transcends any single medium. The same depth of imagination, humanity, and emotional truth that has defined his extraordinary work on stage and screen is present in his music. Listening to his composition, I am struck by its beauty, craftsmanship, and the unmistakable sense of wonder that animates it. Anthony approaches music with the heart of a storyteller and the instincts of a poet, creating sound worlds that are both deeply personal and universally resonant. It has been a privilege to collaborate with him on this recording alongside my friends Gregorio Nieto, Sergio Tiempo, and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and to help bring to life the musical voice of an artist whose creativity knows no boundaries.”
President of Decca, Laura Monks, says: “It is such a privilege to have the great Sir Anthony Hopkins join Decca Classics. His depth of talent and classical music knowledge, honed over a lifetime, is a joy to celebrate with this new album. Hearing his incredible compositions come to life at the recording sessions in London with Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra was a once in a lifetime experience that we are excited to bring to the world.”
Alongside Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia, the recording features pianist Sergio Tiempo, cellist Gregorio Nieto, The Bach Choir and the Boy Choristers of Winchester Cathedral. The album was recorded at Alexandra Palace, London in April 2026.
In support of the people of Venezuela during this time of profound hardship, Anthony Hopkins will be making a donation from the sales of the ‘Life Is a Dream' CD and vinyl to the United Nations Development Fund.
‘Life is a Dream' will be released on 21st August 2026. The track list is:
- Fanfare and March
- Farewell My Love
- And The Waltz Goes On
- My Fatherland
- Margam
- 1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra: I. Circus
- 1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra: II. Bracken Road
- 1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra: III. The Plaza
- Stella Aria
- Tara
- Two Pieces for Orchestra: I. The Eagle
- Two Pieces for Orchestra: II. Samara
