Most of us recognise Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won an Oscar. Some may know him as Odin in the Thor films, or from roles in The Father, The Remains of the Day, and Shadowlands.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
Before he became a world-renowned actor, Hopkins also wrote music.
He wrote a waltz in 1964 that remained unheard until its full orchestral premiere in Vienna in 2011. The performance was so moving that the video still circulates online today.
An unknown piece created by a young man in Wales
Throughout Hopkins' life, there has always been a close relationship with music. Hopkins studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where he worked extensively with music before later training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
In 1964, when he was in his twenties, long before becoming known on Hollywood stages, Hopkins wrote a waltz named And the Waltz Goes On. It seems that the piece was not revealed to the public for decades.
The work was never performed publicly, and Hopkins never heard how it sounded in the hands of the full orchestra. It stayed hidden among the other works he created during the period when he was starting his acting career.
According to a profile published by The Independent , Hopkins stated later that he created the piece in 1964 and kept it for many years until someone thought about performing it.
Unexpected relationship with André Rieu
It appeared that the story got another surprising twist when Hopkins and his wife, Stella Arroyave, started being fans of Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu. André Rieu gained popularity for his grand concerts where he performed classical music pieces with the Johann Strauss Orchestra.
According to André Rieu's official biography , Hopkins and his wife wished to meet him. As a result, Hopkins sent him some of the music he composed, including the forgotten waltz. Rieu liked the composition and was going to perform it and even record it.
It happened that Hopkins experienced something he had never experienced before: listening to the composition he created almost fifty years ago as an orchestral piece.
And the Waltz goes on: 47 years in the making
The first performance of And the Waltz Goes On took place in Vienna in July 2011. As stated in the press release distributed by André Rieu Productions, Hopkins made his way from Los Angeles for the concert in which he would see his work come to life before his eyes.
The Los Angeles Times covered the story in which Hopkins was present at the premiere of the song performed by Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra in Vienna on July 3, 2011.
For someone like Hopkins, who has spent decades being awarded, knighted, and becoming the face we have all come to know, it must have been a very unique experience.
"It's a dream come true"
It goes without saying that Hopkins was aware of the significance of the moment. In the statement issued by André Rieu Productions, he mentioned:
"It's a dream come true for me that Andre performed it with his orchestra. I'm totally knocked out by the result. It's even more than I expected."
The group further mentions that the conductor was so impressed by the piece that he immediately made arrangements for its recording and inclusion on an album of the same name.
It went on to become the title track of Rieu's album, "And the Waltz Goes On," released in 2011.
Why does this tale remain relevant even now?
What makes the story fascinating is not just its celebrities.
One thing that people like about this story is the notion that a piece of art could take years - even decades - to find its viewers. Hopkins created the waltz as a youngster. He could not have known then that it would one day be performed in Vienna by one of the world's leading orchestras, years after he became an Oscar-winning actor.
The story also unveils an unseen side of Hopkins. Despite all his fame, Hopkins still writes music for the sheer joy of creating.
A recording of this performance became popular online and has been viewed by millions of people over the years.
For an actor best known for his film roles, one of Hopkins' most memorable moments came in a concert hall, when a composition he wrote in 1964 was performed for the first time.
