In Sevastopol (Russia), in a family of emigrants of Korçë origin, Lola (Aleksi) Gjoka was born, a pianist, People’s Artist. She completed her general education in her hometown and started studying music. In 1932, she settled in Albania, where she began her activity as a pianist and at the same time attended the Athens Conservatory (1932–1934) for piano. Her artistic activity as a concert pianist, accompanist, educator, and arranger of folk songs (stylized around 50 such songs) continued for over 50 years. She became the initiator of professional interpretation in the country. She assisted in training young artists (pianists, dancers, singers), starting in 1933 as a piano teacher at the Women’s Institute of Tirana and later among the first teachers of the Jordan Misja Art High School and the Tirana Conservatory. With the establishment of the Opera and Ballet Theater, she developed further activities in the field of operatic interpretation, assisting in the training of lyrical singers. As one of the first arrangers of folk songs, she played a sensitive role in shaping the tradition of interpreting this genre. (In the photo: Lola (Aleksi) Gjoka)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 1 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 853-854.
Photo: © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Gjoka
Graphic processing: AHCF
