Anthony Hopkins Signed by Decca Classics; First Album of Music Composed by Oscar-Winning Actor Set for August Release
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- Anthony Hopkins signed with Decca Classics for a recording project spanning more than six decades of his original compositions.
- The album "Life Is a Dream," conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, is set for Aug. 21 release.
- First single "Bracken Road" — from Hopkins' "1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra" — was released Friday, inspired by childhood memories of Margam, South Wales in the 1940s.
- Hopkins, 88, has been playing piano since age 4 and won a Classic Brit Award in 2012 for his contribution to "And the Waltz Goes On."
- Hopkins made his live musical performance debut in Saudi Arabia in 2025 with a "Life Is a Dream" concert played by Britain's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
- Album also includes "My Fatherland" (inspired by traditional Welsh melodies) and pieces inspired by cinema, his wife, and his niece; soloists are cellist Gregorio Nieto and pianist Sergio Tiempo.
Why it matters: Decca Classics is staking its label on Hopkins as a serious composer — not a novelty — giving a Dudamel-led, Philharmonia-recorded platform to work he has quietly accumulated since the 1940s. The release reframes one of cinema's most recognizable actors as a lifelong self-taught classical composer with a prior Classic Brit on his shelf.
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