The whole world recognizes the face of Sir Anthony Hopkins (1937) as that of Hannibal Lecter, the deranged man-eater from the movie The Silence Of The Lambs (1991). The other face of the Welshman, that of a musician, is a lot less known. Yet Hopkins has been a composer all his life. For the performance of one of his oldest works, written when he was 19, he turned to André Rieu. "Who else?" you
… would almost say, because Rieu is not only the hardest working man in the field of light classical music, he also has an eye for commercially interesting details. For example, he bombardes Hopkins' work, which lasts less than six minutes, into the title track of this CD and has the actor figure prominently in the accompanying artwork. Of course he thanks him extensively in the liner notes, where he also gives a very nice summary of the history of the waltz. Rieu and the waltz; a tandem that is loved worldwide and seems indestructible. On this CD, Rieu once again proves his worth as an interpreter of pleasant tunes in three-quarter time. Thanks to Sir Anthony Hopkins this time. (JE)more
