Lola Gjoka Aleksi (22 May 1910 – 6 October 1985) was an Albanian pianist during the period of the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

Life

Jorgjia Filce-Truja Lola Gjoka Tefta Tashko-Koco in the 30s

Gjoka was born in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

in 1910, into an Albanian family. She began learning the piano at the age of six, and her success was such that her father arranged for her to have lessons from the pianist Karalovy. In 1932 her family moved to

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

, where Gjoka worked as an accompanist for singers including the soprano

Tefta Tashko-Koço Tefta Tashko-Koço (; 2 November 191022 December 1947) was an Albanians, Albanian singer and soprano. She was a leading figure in the regional music industry and is considered one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century in the ...

, the Albanian folk singer

Marie Kraja Marie Kraja or Marie Paluca (24 September 1911 – 21 November 1999) was an Albanian opera singer who is particularly known for her delivery of Albanian folk songs. Life Kraja was born in 1911 in Zadar, Kingdom of Dalmatia, then part of Aus ...

, and Mihal Ciko. In 1933 she won a significant prize in an international piano competition in Vienna, which got her a job to teach piano at the Institute for Girls in Tirana. She graduated with honours from the

Athens Conservatory The Athens Conservatoire () is the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece. It was founded in 1871 by the non-profit organization Music and Drama Association. History Initially, the musical instruments that were ta ...

in 1936. Gjoka, along with Maria Kraja, a notable singer of traditional Albanian Urban Lyric Songs, worked together and they recorded over 300 songs. By today's standards the recordings were not prefect; however they still survive today as a record of Albanian musical culture. During the

Italian occupation of Albania Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

Gjoka appeared in Italian stages. In November 1944 she played at a concert in Tirana to celebrate the end of

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

. She was one of the first teachers at the "Jordan Misja" high school in 1947. The school was targeted at artistically talented children. Additionally, in 1951, Gjoka became a concertmaster at the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Albania. As a result, Gjoka translated the libretto from

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...

's opera

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalky/rusalki; ; pl, rusałka}) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Mel ...

into Albanian. On 15 January 1962 a Conservatory was founded in Tirana (''Konservatori Shteteror i Tiranes'', which was merged in 1966 into the

Academy of Arts in Tirana The University of Arts ( sq, Universiteti i Arteve), formerly known as the Academy of Arts ( sq, Akademia e Arteve) is a public university and the main institution that offers higher education of the arts in Albania. History Founded in 1966 as th ...

), and Gjoka was in the first group of teachers she combined with giving concerts. She primarily performed in Albania, but she also presented to China, Bulgaria, Greece, the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

, Romania, and Cuba. In 1976 she appeared in the film (''Sounds of War'') as a pianist and three years later she also appeared in the movie (''Face to Face''). Gjoka died in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

in 1985, at the age of 75. For her work she was awarded the titles of "Merited Artist" and "

People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of th ...

". An award for young pianists in Albania was founded in her name. In 2002, Hamide Stringa wrote her biography.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjoka, Lola 1910 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Albanian people Albanian pianists Albanian translators People from Korçë People from Sevastopol People's Artists of Albania Queen Mother Pedagogical Institute faculty Czech–Albanian translators Academic staff of the University of Arts, Tirana Albanian women writers Albanian writers 20th-century translators 20th-century pianists Soviet emigrants to Albania 20th-century women pianists