An historic event took place in December 2021 in Virum Church, Denmark. A delegation of Albanian and Danish artists came together to record 49 Albanian songs, arranged by the Albanian pianist and composer Lola Aleksi Gjoka, most of which have never been recorded before. Her beautiful songs are a fusion of old, authentic Albanian folk songs and classical music – a cultural treasure that, for most part, has been all but forgotten. Thanks to the Lola Aleksi Gjoka Project, they are now accessible to the whole world. 

Lola Aleksi Gjoka (1910-1985) was born and grew up in Sevastopol, Crimea, where her family were Albanian immigrants. Lola began playing piano at the age of 9, and her musical talent was evident right away. She later went to the conservatory in Sevastopol in order to become a concert pianist, but her education was aborted shortly before her graduation, when the family had to leave the Soviet Union to move to Albania. Lola was 21 when they settled in Korça, Albania.

A meeting of minds

At the same time, Albanian belcanto singers, like sopranos Gorgjia Filçe, Tefta Tashko, Maria Kraja, tenor Kristaq Antoniu and baritone Kristaq Koço also returned to Korça from abroad. They all got together as a group, with Lola Gjoka at the center. They were passionate artists who were unified in their efforts to spread classical music. They held concerts, which included works of Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Schubert, and included traditional Albanian songs. In order to include more of the Albanian song treasure, they began collecting songs from all over Albania, and Lola composed piano accompaniment for them. This became a collection of 51 Albanian songs with piano accompaniment written by Lola, where she uplifted the traditional songs for classical musical concerts. The population loved these songs, but most of them were never recorded.

EVENT

Our first concert with Lola Aleksi Gjoka association!
When: October 1, 2023, kl. 19:00
Where: Virum Kirke Kirkebakken 10

Medvirkende kunstnere:
Gitta-Maria Sjöberg (sopran)
Stig Fogh Andersen (tenor)
Flaka Goranci (albansk mezzosopran)
Feride Gillesberg (sopran)
Almira Emir (albansk pianist)
og organist Knud Rasmussen.

1. Juni 2023
Classical Concert
Albanian and American Songs in
16 Pleasant St, Quincy, MA 02169, USA

Lola Aleksi Gjoka—the People’s Artist of Albania

“Music became her life, and her life became music”
Juki Maria Rako, Gjoka’s daughter