Hoffnung Music Festival


The Hoffnung Music Festivals were a series of humorous classical music festivals created by cartoonist and amateur tuba player Gerard Hoffnung and held in the Royal Festival Hall in London. The concerts consisted of humorous works specially commissioned from well-known composers of the day.

1956 concert

The 1956 concert was recorded, and is available in the American market on Angel Records 35500. Music from The Hoffnung Music Festival Concert, Royal Festival Hall, London. An Extravagant Evening of Symphonic Caricature devised by Gerald Hoffnung, Producer: Sam Wanamaker, Organizer: John Amis. It was recorded at the concert, 13 November 1956, by EMI and released in the U.S. by Angel Records. The orchestra was the Morley College Orchestra
The concert opens with Ernst Bean, the General Manager of the Festival Hall, announcing that “owing to circumstances over which the London County Council and the management of the hall have no control, tonight’s concert will take place exactly as advertised.”
Programme:
The work begins with a long drumroll, tricking the audience into rising for the national anthem.
Following Malcolm Arnold's entrance, violinist Yfrah Neaman ran through the stage playing The Irish Washerwoman
In addition to the large orchestra, the overture consists of a quartet of 3 vacuum cleaners and an electric floor polisher. The work is dedicated to President Hoover
This version of an already humorous work consists of more surprises, such as one of the Festival Hall organ pipes falling over when the orchestra hits the fortissimo "surprise" chord, the violins playing in the wrong key twice, a new "waltz" variation with a ballerina dancing through the aisles and ending with members of the BBC Music Division playing the theme on stone hot water bottles.
The concerto starts with the orchestra playing the opening bars of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, only for the pianist to enter with the opening of Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor. The rest of the concerto combines the two concertos into one, mixing with themes such as Pop Goes the Weasel and Roll Out the Barrell, ending with conductor and soloist fighting for the last chord.
  • Orchestral Switch by Frank Butterworth
A short overture consisting of forty-eight quotations from other works. According to the program, "Try to spot as many as you can; the usual prizes will not be offered."
This work, while in the form of a fugue, consists of the choir declaiming various places without variance in pitch.
A transcription of the last movement of Leopold Mozart's Sinfonia Pastorella for Alphorn and Strings.
At one point in the score, the composer indicates "tempo di rock 'n' roll"
  • Variations on Annie Laurie by Gordon Jacob
  • *Theme: Alerto, ma non troppo
  • *Variation I: Poco Inglesemente
  • *Variation II: Molto Zingaresemente
  • *Variation III: Alla Gigolo
  • *Variation IV: Polifonia Profunda
  • *Finale: Assai.
The work is scored for an unusual combination of two piccolos, heckelphone, two contrabass clarinets, two contrabassoons, serpent, contrabass serpent, hurdy gurdy, harmonium, and subcontrabass tuba.
Although not a humorous work, this performance featured several distinguished guests playing in the orchestra, including Malcolm Arnold on the trumpet, Norman Del Mar on the French horn, Yvonne Arnaud on the piano, Dennis Brain on the organ, Hugo D'Alton on the mandolin, and Gerard Hoffnung on the tuba.
The liner notes were written by John Amis, one of the organizers of the event. He wrote that it was called the Crazy Concert by the London newspapers, and that all 3000-odd seats were sold within two hours of the opening of the box office, breaking all records for Royal Festival Hall at that time and selling faster than the previous Liberace concert.

1958 concert

The 1958 production was the Hoffnung Interplanetary Music Festival, Royal Festival Hall, 21 & 22 November. The EMI recording for the American market was Angel 35800, released in both mono and stereo.
Programme:
As its name suggests, this piece is played in the foyer while the audience is walking to the concert hall. The recording is edited in such a way that it sounds as though one were walking past the musicians into the hall
A series of five musical commercials for Bournvita in the style of Bach, Mozart, Verdi, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky.
This work mostly relies on its visual humor, which is why it is abridged on the recording. Throughout the concert, Hoffnung demonstrates some unorthodox conducting skills, such as conducting to total silence, sobbing on stage, and engaging in a sword fight with Joseph Cooper. The work also includes a "cadenza", which just consists of the conductor waving his arms around carelessly while the orchestra remains silent. According to the program "Why not televise entire symphony concerts but advise those viewers who are not deaf to switch off the sound?"
A mashup of various themes by Tchaikovsky arranged for a Renaissance Ensemble. The cannons that would be presented in the 1812 Overture are replaced with popguns.
In this work, the composer seeks to "re-create the fine spirit of human endeavour which becomes so apparent that the nations meet together." At one point, a huge military band wanders through the stage blasting several patriotic songs
The scoring of this work includes a large foghorn played by Annetta Hoffnung
This work involves the strings playing "in every way except in the normal fashion." and the woodwinds and brass playing their mouthpieces without their instrument attached.
  • Punkt Contrapunkt by "Bruno Heinz Jaja"
A short parody on 12-tone serial music and Klangfarbenmelodie. The work is preceded by an overly long analysis by "Dr. Klaus Domgraf-Fassbaender", and "Prof. Von der Vogelweide".
The concert closes with "an operatic divertissement, a miracle of controlled stage-craft - five operas for the price of one!" The plot of the opera is that - "the setting is outside the cigarette factory in old Nuremberg. Beckmesser woos Azucena, the sex-kitten of the tobacco girls. Othello rides in with his swan which is chased away by William Tell, Max and other huntsmen. Othello, retiring defeated from the hunt, meets Salome who on the removal of all her veils, proves to be Fidelio and sings herself into a stupor. Brünnhilde, in search of a husband, is disappointed – Fidelio is a woman in disguise – and even the rival serenaders of whom she has hopes turn out to be wooing Mélisande. However she gets her man – Radames – in the end. Fidelio awakens and departs on Brünnhilde’s tricycle, Grane, leaving the frustrated Nightwatchman to steal well deserved winks on the vacated bed … etc., etc."
Roles:
RolesVoice TypesPremiere Cast
Azucena, Mélisandemezzo-sopranoEdith Coates
BeckmesserbaritoneOtakar Kraus
OtellotenorEdgar Evans
The Nightwatchmanbass-baritoneIan Wallace
Salome sopranoSheila Rex
BrünnhildesopranoGloria Lane
Don GiovannibaritonePeter Glossop
ManricotenorJohn Dobson
NadirtenorDuncan Robertson
EscamillobassOwen Brannigan

1960 concert

The 1960 production was the Hoffnung Memorial Concert and was a memorial tribute to Gerard Hoffnung, who had died a year earlier. It was again held in the Royal Festival Hall and performed by the Morley College Orchestra. Works performed included A Hoffnung Fanfare and Carnival of Animals op.72 by Malcolm Arnold.

1961 concert

The 1961 production was the Hoffnung Astronautical Music Festival, and was once again held in the Royal Festival Hall, 28 November. It was also recorded by EMI in mono and stereo and released in the U.S. on Angel Records 35828. The recording was reissued on CD by Hallmark on 20 February 2012.
Programme:
  • "Rigmarole" - Introductory Music Played in the Foyer by Francis Baines
  • Festival Anthem by Francis Baines
  • Leonora Overture No. 4 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Modeled after Beethoven's Leonora Overture No. 3, this work present some bizarre twists, including the offstage trumpeters entering at the wrong times, The Happy Wanderers' Street Band interrupting the music, and the orchestra suddenly plunging into an out of place waltz rhythm. The actual composer was not named in the program, but the work of Malcolm Arnold was unmistakable.
  • Duet from "The Barber of Darmstadt" by "Bruno Heinz Jaja"
Just like Punkt Contrapunkt, this duet is a parody on 12-tone serial music.
The key of this work is "mostly in D Major." The work crescendos to a dramatic countdown, mixed with themes such as Flight of the Bumblebee and Yankee Doodle.
  • Grand Concerto Gastronomique for eater, waiter, food, and large orchestra by Malcolm Arnold
This work was not present on the audio recording due to its extreme visual humor. The work centers around a diner who has to eat his way through an entire meal for the duration of the piece.
Horrortorio by Joseph Horovitz
Roles:
RolesVoice TypesPremiere Cast
Dracula's DaughtersopranoApril Cantelo
Dowager Baroness FrankensteincontraltoPamela Bowden
Narrator, Frankenstein's SontenorStephen Manton
Count DraculabassJohn Frost

This extravagant oratorio, taken from "a scenario by Maurice Richardson" tells the story of the marriage of Dracula's Daughter and Frankenstein's Son. The music parodies the classical oratorio while taking on "new and horrible dimensions".
The opposite of "static" where the players remain on stage throughout the work, this short piece has all the members of the orchestra moving about on stage, "faithfully following their respective conductors."

1969 concert

On 17 February 1969, a Hoffnung concert was staged in the Royal Festival Hall in aid of the Notting Hill Housing Trust. It included some of the works from the 1958 festival, and a new work to celebrate Hoffnung. The conductor for most of the works was Norman Del Mar with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and several singers from 1958 returned. Spelling and punctuation are as in the 1969 programme notes:
Programme:
  • A Word from Our Founder by Malcolm Williamson
  • Metamorphosis on a Bed-time Theme
  • Sugar Plums
  • Concerto Popolare
  • Punkt Contrapunkt
  • Concerto for Conductor and Orchestra
  • Let's Fake an Opera
Roles:
RolesPerformers
BeckmesserDerek Hammond Stroud
Azucena Edith Coates
OtelloEdgar Evans
Odette-OdileDeanne Bergsma
The NightwatchmanIan Wallace
Salome/FidelioSheila Rex
Wotan, EscamilloGerwyn Morgan
BrünnhildeJudith Pierce
NadirDuncan Robertson
ManricoDavid Kane
Don GiovanniRichard van Allan
MélisandeApril Cantelo
RadamesNeville Griffiths

According to the programme, "A two-minute period has been allocated by the Concert Organisers for Community Coughing. If you have a promising cough, please try to save it until then."

1976 concert

On 14 December 1976, a Hoffnung concert was staged in the Royal Albert Hall, entitled "Hear Hear, Hoffnung", featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as several distinguished conductors and performers.
Programme:
  • A Hoffnung Fanfare by Malcolm Arnold
The work is scored for 36 trumpets.
  • Ode by Colin Graham
  • A Grand, Grand Overture
  • Metamorphosis on a Bed-time Theme
  • Sugar Plums
  • Haydn's Surprise Symphony
  • The United Nations
  • Punkt Contrapunkt
  • Concerto Popolare
  • Let's Fake an Opera
RolesPerformers
BeckmesserThomas Lawlor
Azucena, MélisandeAnn Howard
Otello, ManricoKenneth Woollam
The NightwatchmanIan Wallace
Salome/FidelioAva June
Wotan, EscamilloHarold Blackburn
BrünnhildeAnn Hood
NadirBernard Dickerson
Don GiovanniPeter Knapp
Swan QueenLaura Conner

1988 concert

On 12 and 13 February 1988, two reprise concerts were performed and recorded at the Royal Festival Hall and released by Decca. Many distinguished guests appeared, including Donald Swann, Annetta Hoffnung, and Gerard's daughter Emily. The program, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Michael Massey and Tom Bergman, consisted of highlights from previous Hoffnung Festivals as well as a few new pieces to keep the audience on their toes.
Programme:
  • A Hoffnung Festival Fanfare by Frank Renton
  • A Grand, Grand Overture
  • Concerto for Hosepipe & Orchestra
  • The Ballad of County Down
  • The Famous Tay Whale
  • Aria from Quasimodo e Giulietta by "Giacomo Scarlatina", new realisation by "Maynard Nelson"
The music consists of a mashup of several opera melodies, while the libretto is a mashup of various Italian musical terms
  • Leonora Overture No. 4
Before the work is played, an audience member coughs rather loudly. He is checked on by a nurse, after which they sing a hilarious operatic duet.
  • Lochinvar
  • Concerto Popolare
  • Concerto D’Amore for Violin and Orchestra by Wilfred Josephs
The piece starts with the concerts manager announcing that due to a booking error, two violins have been scheduled for the same concert. In order to "avoid legal proceedings", the managers decide that both of them should play the concerto. At the end, the female violinist bows the last harmonic, during which they fall into a kiss.
So called because parts of the music sound suspiciously similar to Rossini's Overture to the Thieving Magpie.
  • Haydn's Surprise Symphony
  • Metamorphosis on a Bedtime Theme
  • Orchestral Switch
  • Disconcerto for Piano and Orchestra by Wilfred Josephs
Before the work is played, Annetta wipes down the keys of the piano while the French horns blare out Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser.
The performances of Lochinvar and the Heaving Bagpipe are preceded by a bagpipe solo performed by Lachlan A. Stewart