Hlobil composed in the Romantic tradition of the Nineteenth Century, almost untouched by modern trends,[3] which was possibly a reflection of the politics of the time and place.[4] A review by Gramaphone in 1961 described him as follows:
Emil Hlobil, 60-year-old professor of composition at the Prague Conservatoire, has the most original creative imagination of our twelve composers, I would say. In his Quartet for harpsichord and string trio (1944) [sic], he uses a fairly simple diatonic idiom, but shows a Janacek-like boldness in his apparently inconsequential changing of the subject, his close working-out of a few motives, and his ability to create fascinating textures. Although his self-made technique is not nearly as successful as Janacek's—his material does not stand up to so much repetition, and he sometimes falls into empty naïveté (codetta of first movement and much of the finale), this refreshingly imaginative work makes one want to hear more recent examples from his long list of compositions.[5]
Hlobil's works include operas, symphonies, concertos and string quartets in the Czech
Impressionist tradition of Suk and
Vítězslav Novák.
Selected works
Stage
Anna Karenina, Opera in 3 acts, Op. 60 (1962); libretto by the composer after a dramatization of
Tolstoy's
novel by Nicolai Volkov
Měšťák šlechticem (Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme), Opera in 3 acts, Op. 67 (1967); libretto by the composer after
the play by
Molière
Kráska a zvíře (Beauty and the Beast), Ballet in 3 acts, Op. 96 (1976); libretto by Milan Fridrich after
František Hrubín
Král Václav IV. (King
Wenceslaus IV), Opera in 5 scenes, Op. 107 (1981); libretto by the composer after the play by
Arnošt Dvořák [
cs]
Orchestral
Suite, Op. 4
Weekend, Suite, Op. 6
Sinfonietta, Op. 19
Zpěv mládí (Song of Youth), Op. 22
Tryzna mučedníkům, Op. 25
Park oddechu, Suite for small orchestra, Op. 28
Lidová veselice (Folk Celebration), Suite for small orchestra, Op. 32
Symphony No. 1, Op. 31 (1949)
Léto v Krkonoších (Summer in the Krkonoše Mountains), Op. 33 (1957)
^Jůzl, Miloš (1996). "Music and the Totalitarian Regime in Czechoslovakia". International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music. 27 (1): 31–51.
doi:
10.2307/3108370.
JSTOR3108370.
^Musica Nova Bohemica et Slovenica. March 1961. p. 80.
Hlobil composed in the Romantic tradition of the Nineteenth Century, almost untouched by modern trends,[3] which was possibly a reflection of the politics of the time and place.[4] A review by Gramaphone in 1961 described him as follows:
Emil Hlobil, 60-year-old professor of composition at the Prague Conservatoire, has the most original creative imagination of our twelve composers, I would say. In his Quartet for harpsichord and string trio (1944) [sic], he uses a fairly simple diatonic idiom, but shows a Janacek-like boldness in his apparently inconsequential changing of the subject, his close working-out of a few motives, and his ability to create fascinating textures. Although his self-made technique is not nearly as successful as Janacek's—his material does not stand up to so much repetition, and he sometimes falls into empty naïveté (codetta of first movement and much of the finale), this refreshingly imaginative work makes one want to hear more recent examples from his long list of compositions.[5]
Hlobil's works include operas, symphonies, concertos and string quartets in the Czech
Impressionist tradition of Suk and
Vítězslav Novák.
Selected works
Stage
Anna Karenina, Opera in 3 acts, Op. 60 (1962); libretto by the composer after a dramatization of
Tolstoy's
novel by Nicolai Volkov
Měšťák šlechticem (Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme), Opera in 3 acts, Op. 67 (1967); libretto by the composer after
the play by
Molière
Kráska a zvíře (Beauty and the Beast), Ballet in 3 acts, Op. 96 (1976); libretto by Milan Fridrich after
František Hrubín
Král Václav IV. (King
Wenceslaus IV), Opera in 5 scenes, Op. 107 (1981); libretto by the composer after the play by
Arnošt Dvořák [
cs]
Orchestral
Suite, Op. 4
Weekend, Suite, Op. 6
Sinfonietta, Op. 19
Zpěv mládí (Song of Youth), Op. 22
Tryzna mučedníkům, Op. 25
Park oddechu, Suite for small orchestra, Op. 28
Lidová veselice (Folk Celebration), Suite for small orchestra, Op. 32
Symphony No. 1, Op. 31 (1949)
Léto v Krkonoších (Summer in the Krkonoše Mountains), Op. 33 (1957)
^Jůzl, Miloš (1996). "Music and the Totalitarian Regime in Czechoslovakia". International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music. 27 (1): 31–51.
doi:
10.2307/3108370.
JSTOR3108370.
^Musica Nova Bohemica et Slovenica. March 1961. p. 80.