Sir Anthony Hopkins to release debut album inspired by his childhood
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Sir Anthony Hopkins will release his first album next month featuring classical pieces he has worked on for six decades, with the lead single "Bracken Road" released on Friday.
- Decca Classics president Laura Monks said the team had "goosebumps" watching the 88-year-old record, calling it helping him "deliver on a life long dream," while Hopkins described signing with the label as "the honour of a lifetime."
- Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra perform the album, with Hopkins calling the Grammy-winning conductor's artistry "an integral part of this musical journey."
- The Port Talbot-born actor composed the suite in 1963 while a young performer at the Liverpool Playhouse, though the work is titled "1947" after his childhood in Margam, south Wales, where he began playing piano at age four.
- Track My Fatherland pays tribute to Wales, with Hopkins writing it to "honour my humble beginnings" and describing himself as "the son of my father, the baker."
Why it matters: At 88, Hopkins is delivering on a self-described lifelong dream — he called music "my first desire, my first wish" — with the backing of the Philharmonia Orchestra and Grammy-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel, lending institutional weight uncommon for a debut from outside the classical industry. Decca's Monks said his "life long knowledge" of the genre was visible in the recording room, not just his celebrity name.
