Long before Anthony Hopkins took to the stage and film and chilled us all with his portrayal of Hannibal Lector, he was a musician. He started piano at four and was composing by his teens. His Life Is A Dream album represents six decades of memories and impressions, revealing his keen sense of orchestration and attractively nostalgic gift for melody, given full justice by Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra. 

It starts off triumphantly with Fanfare and March leading into the cinematic grandeur of Farewell My Love, one of the strongest tracks, an old-fashioned romantic piece for piano and orchestra featuring Venezuelan-Argentine pianist Sergio Tiempo.

And the Waltz Goes On is perhaps the most ear-catching track. It started life in the 1960s when Hopkins was tinkling on the piano in Liverpool Playhouse’s greenroom. Dutch violinist André Rieu was so impressed when Hopkins sent him an arrangement that he recorded it overnight.

Two of the works, Farewell My Love and Stella Aria, are dedicated to his wife Stella Arroyave and one to his niece Tara, while Margam references his birthplace in Port Talbot and 1947: Suite for Orchestra shows him painting skilfully on a larger canvas, evoking the excitement of seeing the circus and a dedication to the Plaza Cinema where he discovered his passion for film.

Wales is ever present – notably in My Fatherland, which features the Bach Choir and Boy Choristers of Winchester Cathedral singing traditional tunes, including Bread of Heaven and Men of Harlech – and two works composed for the Royal Philharmonic round off the collection. 

Composer: Anthony Hopkins
Work: Life is a Dream
Performer(s): Philharmonia Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel
Label: Decca 4872382