Gordon Jacob (1895-1984), one of Malcolm Arnold's teachers at the Royal College of Music, was represented in the first Hoffnung. This rumbustious parody of Rossini's style was composed in 1960 for the BBC Concert Orchestra, which introduced it under Vilm Tausky in a broadcast concert that year. (Tausky added the opening bars, in fact, with the composer's approval, which are included in this arrangement.) The piece is a no-holds-barred workout on familiar material such as could be brought off only by a certified master of the modern orchestra with a free-wheeling imaginativeness to match his/her technical skill. Concert Bands and their audiences will get in on the fun of this rousing parody, exploring everything from a Spanish dance to a Street parade.
