Danish composer and conductor Phillip Faber has delivered a sharply negative verdict on Sir Anthony Hopkins’ debut orchestral album, “Life Is a Dream,” saying the music is stylistically muddled and painful to listen to.
DR published Faber’s reaction on August 25, four days after the album was released. Faber told DR that the music is very film score like, naive and vain. He added that it is still impressive that Hopkins, who is not a trained composer, can write melodies.
Faber is a familiar figure in the Danish music scene, and is the former chief conductor of the DR Girls’ Choir. According to DR, he questioned the fairness of the project once Hopkins’ fame is removed from the equation. He said he doubts that conductor Gustavo Dudamel would ever take on music of this caliber.
The album was released on Friday, August 21, 2026, by Decca Classics. It contains 12 compositions, many of them inspired by Hopkins’ childhood in Wales, and was recorded by the Philharmonia Orchestra in London with Dudamel conducting. Hopkins is 88 years old and has composed music for more than six decades.
Per DR, Faber said Hopkins does not place himself between two stylistic chairs but five. He pointed to two bars that resemble Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” half a movement leaning toward French impressionism, and cello writing close to the British composer Edward Elgar.
Faber: better suited to film
Faber told DR that the compositions would work better as film music, where the score supports moving images. He described the album as effective and theatrical, but said he does not know what purpose it serves on its own. He also said no one will be playing the record in 100 years, adding that the same applies to his own music.
Hopkins has said he is indifferent to how the album is received. In an interview with NPR on August 24, he compared it to acting, where audiences either like you or they do not.
The label’s release listing, hosted by Hyperion Records, states that the recording sessions took place in April 2026 at the Alexandra Palace Theatre in London. The album runs about 65 minutes and features pianist Sergio Tiempo, cellist Gregorio Nieto, The Bach Choir and the boy choristers of Winchester Cathedral.
uDiscover Music reported that the single “Bracken Road” preceded the album, and that a vinyl edition is scheduled for October 30, 2026. Reviewing the release on August 21, The Guardian described the music as easy on the ear melodies written from the heart, with a strong cinematic character.
ITV News reported that Hopkins ties the album to his parents and to the streets and cinemas of Port Talbot in Wales. As stated by Hopkins to The Guardian in July 2026, music was his first desire.
