Cesk Zadeja, composer, People’s Artist, professor, and external member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, one of the most prominent representatives of the professional Albanian musical tradition, passed away in Rome. He was born in Shkodër in 1927. He was formed as a musician in the artistic environment of his hometown, near the Franciscan choir, and as a trombonist in the wind orchestra of Prenk Jakovo. He studied at the “Santa Cecilia” Academy in Rome (1941-1943). He then worked at Radio-Shkodra (1946–1947) and served as the conductor of the People’s Army Artistic Ensemble (1949–1951). He studied composition at the “P.I. Tchaikovsky” Conservatory in Moscow (1951-1956). After returning to his homeland, he became one of the country’s central musical figures, co-founding and directing some of the most important musical institutions: the first artistic director of the State Ensemble of Folk Songs and Dances (1957), head of the Music Department at the Higher Institute of Arts (1966), and artistic director of the Opera and Ballet Theater (1972). With his rich 40 years of creativity, Cesk Zadeja became the most vocal representative of the fundamental processes that the development of Albanian music underwent in the second half of the 20th century, contributing to the formation of a real professional tradition in the country and cultivating several forms of traditional musical genres in Albania. His original style was formed on the basis of the synthesis of the European musical experience of the 19th and 20th centuries and the masterful use of numerous resources (especially intonation and modal elements) from the local folklore heritage. In this regard, he can be considered the most influential composer for other generations of Albanian musicians. Cesk Zadeja created almost all musical forms and genres. His work has been widely performed at home and abroad. Among his main works are: Symphony in A (1956), Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1968), Sonata for Violin and Piano (1972), and the ballets “Delina” (1962) and “Para stuhisë” (“Before the Storm”) (1982), as well as piano pieces “Tokata” (1954), “Humorkeska” (1961), and “Valle e rëndë me daulle” (“Heavy Dance with Drum”) (1964), among others. He received the Republic Award of the First Degree and the Second Degree (twice). (In the photo: Cesk Zadeja)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2967-2968.
Photo: © https://inforculture.info/2020/08/12/
Graphic processing: AHCF
