“And The Waltz Goes On”: The Waltz that Waited 50 Years
The day is November 7, 1964, and in a little green room in Liverpool, a 26-year-old recent college graduate sits in front of a piano. With a “gloomy” day taking place in the world outside, (Sir) Anthony Hopkins fiddles around with the keys on a piano and begins to create an intricate and uniquely beautiful melody that pours out into the hallway just outside. This unlikely composer who would eventually become one of the world’s greatest actors, is then approached by a passerby who was so captivated by the tune that they felt the need to approach the musician behind it. After informing the individual that the melody was in fact improvised, Hopkins was encouraged to write the “beautiful” piece down.
While Hopkins found such fascination in the sounds that came from the piano, he landed himself in another performing arts career that was quite different from the musical area he loved. As the years passed Sir Anthony Hopkins played a multitude of roles that are seen as revolutionary and was even knighted in 1993 by Queen Elizabeth II because of his contribution and services to the arts. Yet in the background of this growing acting career, a gorgeous waltz sat in the dark, awaiting the moment it could have its melodies played for the world.
Almost 50 years later, Hopkin’s wife, Stella Arroyave, secretly sent the waltz composed decades prior to one of the most well-known musicians today, André Rieu, in hopes of fulfilling her husband’s wish for his waltz to one day be performed in Vienna. After unexpectedly receiving a call from Rieu himself that his waltz was just rehearsed by his orchestra, Hopkins and his wife flew out to hear the recording in Maastricht, to which he was overwhelmed with emotion.
Yet, the true beauty of this piece is in its premiere within one of the most beautiful halls in Vienna. After opening the piece off by introducing Sir Anthony Hopkins, André Rieu then conducts his orchestra into the first few notes of the beautiful melody of Hopkin’s waltz, fulfilling a dream for not just one of the world’s greatest actors but also one of the world’s greatest musicians. Echoing through the halls, over 150 strings, winds, and singers sway back and forth in their ball gowns and tuxedos while playing the mesmerizing piece that has waited so long on a score. In the audience, Hopkins hums along with his melodies and struggles to grasp the idea that his is brilliant composer behind the piece he is now hearing. It is as if he is as entranced as everyone else in the audience, yet on a deeper and more lovely way.
What makes this premiere particularly beautiful is the way it connects so many different people and was 50 years in the making. Not only does it bring together two people from extremely different roles in the world of performing arts, but it also connects a young and curious hidden composer from the 1960’s to an accomplished and idolized actor in the present. This premiere plays the role as almost a time machine, connecting two completely different time periods and bringing something marvelous into the world we know today. Most importantly, it finally gave closure to the talented composer that resided within Sir Anthony Hopkins for so long, as he was finally able to get the weight of an incomplete composition off of his shoulders and in return, gifted the beautiful piece that is now known as “And The Waltz Goes On”.
(Later, André Rieu finished the final touches of this piece and played the full version of Hopkin’s waltz live for an audience in Maastricht. It was then used as the name for the title of André Rieu’s album.)
Full Performance: https://youtu.be/M57Fi19vcSI
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