The Hoffnung Music Festivals were a series of three humorous classical music festivals held in Royal Festival Hall, London in 1956, 1958 and 1961. They were created by cartoonist and amateur tuba player Gerard Hoffnung. They included works such as Haydn's Surprise Symphony 'with extra surprises' added by Donald Swann, an 'excerpt from Belshazzar's Feast', with full orchestra and chorus conducted by William Walton himself, which turned out to consist of just a single chord with the word "Slain!", and 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 liner notes list the programme: 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.
1958 concert
The 1958 production was the Hoffnung Interplanetary Music Festival, Royal Festival Hall, 21 & 22 November. The conductor for most of the works was Norman Del Mar. The EMI recording for the American market was Angel 35800, released in both mono and stereo. The liner notes list the programme:
1961 concert
The 1961 production was the Hoffnung Astronautical Music Festival and was a memorial tribute to Gerard Hoffnung, who had died two years earlier, and was 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. The selections included
1969 concert
On February 17, 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, "A Word from Our Founder", by Malcolm Williamson. Conductors included Norman Del Mar and Dudley Moore, with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and several singers from 1958 returned. Spelling and punctuation are as in the 1969 programme notes: 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."
1988 concert
On February 12 & 13, 1988 two reprise concerts were performed and recorded at the Royal Festival Hall. The program, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Tom Bergman, consisted of highlights from previous Hoffnung Festivals, including: There were also a few new pieces to keep the audience on their toes: Quasimodo e Giulietta, The Heaving Bagpipe, Concerto d'Amore, and others. Many distinguished guests appeared, including Donald Swann and Gerard Hoffnung's widow and daughter.
