Gerard Hoffnung

A humourist and cartoonist, active in the Fifties but much revived later (as I remember), specialising in humourous classical music, such as Horrortoria, as well as monologues. The music features vacuum cleaners, hoses...

Halas and Bachelor made a series of cartoons based on his humour.

Recordings

?
Late 70s: three-volume LP
Hoffnung - A Last Encore
1989 BBC Worldwide ZBBC 1062
1. }
2. } Charles Richardson interviews
3. Speech at the Oxford Union December 1958
4. "Fragments"
  1. My Life
  2. The Film Fan
  3. Talking About Music

A flavour of his humour

Unfortunately my little quotations, intended as samples to give a flavour of his humour, are considered to be a breach...

Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 09:29:40 +0100 (BST)
From: "L. Mullenger" 
Subject: Gerard Hoffnung

The copyright in all Gerard Hoffnung cartoons and other material resides 
with Mrs Annetta Hoffnung and sound recordings with the BBC. I regret 
that certain items on your Hoffnung humour page are in breach of 
copyright and must be removed. The official Hoffnung web-site is being 
created at this university with the assistance of Mrs Hoffnung and no 
other material will be allowed on the internet.

We would ask that you expunge the relevant material but not the page.  
Instead please post an apology for contravention of copyright for 12-months 
so that others visiting your site will receive a similar warning. In 
addition post a notice that the official web site will be at
http://www.edu.coventry.ac.uk/music/hoffnung/

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Music is not an acquired culture ... it is an active part of natural life.
                                                              Isaac Stern
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Dr Len Mullenger                         *          Webmaster for        *
Coventry University, CV1 5FB. UK         *  Classical Music on the Web   *
(Please use L.Mullenger@coventry.ac.uk)  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
vox 01203 838659 fax 01203 838282             Educational Development Unit
Classical Music Web Site     http://www.edu.coventry.ac.uk/music/music.htm
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Accordingly I regret and apologise for any offence.

Thanks to Harry Campbell for his moral support and for spotting that the above link had changed by Jan-1999 to www.musicweb.force9.co.uk/music/music.htm. In Nov-1999 the site is now here.

Advice to First-Time Tourists in London

[This may be what the complaint was about, so I've removed this.]

The Bricklayer Sketch

From a weekly bulletin of the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, a letter from a bricklayer in Golders Green to the firm for whom he worked.

[This may be what the complaint was about, so I've removed this.]

Replies from Tyrolean Guest House Landlords

[This may be what the complaint was about, so I've removed this.]

Back to Ian's humour pages