Anthony Hopkins Signs Record Deal as Composer; New Album Arriving in August
The album brings together a selection of orchestral works written across more than six decades.
Sir Anthony Hopkins has signed with Decca Classics as a composer. The Academy Award-winning actor will release his first recording with the label next month, bringing together a selection of orchestral works written across more than six decades. The album will arrive on August 21.
Described as "his most personal musical project to date," Life is a Dream presents new recordings of original works inspired by Hopkins’ family, Wales and a lifetime of experience. It is performed by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
“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, 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.
There is a further tribute to Wales in My Fatherland – a piece to, as he puts it, “honour my humble beginnings. I am the son of my father, the baker.” It is inspired by traditional Welsh melodies and his enduring connection to the country of his birth.
Other compositions on the album draw on memories of Port Talbot, childhood visits with his grandfather, the cinema that first caught his imagination and the people closest to him: Stella Aria for his beloved wife, and Tara for his niece. Listen to the new single and check out the full tracklisting below.
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.
Tracklisting
- 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
About Sir Anthony Hopkins
Sir Anthony Hopkins is one of the most celebrated actors of our time, with a career spanning more than six decades across film, television, and theatre. Born in Port Talbot, Wales, he rose to international acclaim through iconic performances in films such as The Silence of the Lambs, The Remains of the Day, Nixon, and The Father, earning multiple Academy Awards and establishing himself as one of the world’s most respected performers.
Beyond his achievements as an actor, Hopkins has long nurtured a deep passion for music and composition. A self-taught composer, he has spent decades creating original works that reflect his rich imagination and emotional depth. In 2012, he received a Classic Brit Award for Album of the Year for his contribution to And the Waltz Goes On, a celebrated recording featuring André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra.
A landmark moment in his musical journey came on January 17, 2025, when Sir Anthony Hopkins made his live musical performance debut in Saudi Arabia during Riyadh Season. Held at the Bakr Al-Sheddi Theater in Boulevard City, the gala concert, Life Is a Dream, featured his original compositions performed by Britain’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, introducing audiences to his work as a composer on an international stage.