Anthony Hopkins Signs Historic Record Deal and Debuts as Classical Composer
Anthony Hopkins’ Journey from Actor to Classical Composer
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins released his first classical music single on Friday after signing a record deal as a composer.
The Debut Single and Upcoming Album
"Bracken Road" features on his upcoming "Life is a Dream" album, a collection of orchestral works written over six decades, "revealing a composer whose music shares the same emotional depth and storytelling that define his screen career", label Decca Classics said.
Hopkins’ Musical Background
The 88-year-old Welsh-born actor, who won Academy Awards for his performances in "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The Father", learned to play the piano at the age of four and went on to compose music for local plays as a teenager in the 1950s.
Personal Reflections on Music
"Music was my first desire, my first wish," Hopkins said in a statement. "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."
About the Album "Life is a Dream"
"Life is a Dream", which is released on August 21, features works Hopkins wrote during different periods of his life that were inspired by his childhood, loved ones and his native south Wales.
Collaborations and Performers
It is performed by Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
"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," Hopkins said.
"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."
Inspiration Behind the Music
Inspired by the landscape around his childhood home, Hopkins composed "Bracken Road" in 1963 when he was a young actor at the Liverpool Playhouse theatre, improvising on a piano before rehearsals. Another track "My Fatherland", also pays tribute to Wales, while other pieces draw on loved ones and "the cinema that first caught his imagination", Decca Classics said.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise GumuchianEditing by Ros Russell)
