Tefta Tashko-Koço (; 2 November 191022 December 1947) was an 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 Albanian-speaking world. She was posthumously awarded the prestigious title

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 ...

Biography

Life

Tefta Tashko-Koço was born on 2 November 1910 into an Albanian family in

Faiyum Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. In 1921, the 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 ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

, and in 1927, Tefta left for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to study singing at the ''Conservatoire de Montpellier''. From 1932 to 1936, she studied singing in the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

under André Gresse, ''Declamation lyrique'' with Salignac and ''Maintien and Art Mimique'' with G. Wague. In 1936, she permanently returned to Albania, where she performed operatic and chamber music as well as Albanian urban songs. She was asked to

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...

several times each concert when she performed in Albania. She recorded Albanian urban lyric songs for the Columbia Society in Italy in 1937 and 1942, and was a regular performer on

Radio Tirana Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (; en, "Albanian Radio and Television"; mostly called RTSH ) is an Albanian public broadcasting radio and television company. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmi ...

since its foundation in 1938.Koço, p. 53 Tefta Tashko was accompanied by

Lola Gjoka Lola Gjoka Aleksi (22 May 1910 – 6 October 1985) was an Albanian pianist during the period of the Communist regime. Life Gjoka was born in Sevastopol in 1910, into an Albanian family. She began learning the piano at the age of six, and her ...

, and sang songs written specifically for her by the Albanian music composer Kristo Kono. She later married Kristaq Koço and had a son together, Eno Koço ( sq), currently a musical director and scholar. Tefta Tashko died unexpectedly in 1947, aged just 37.

Portrait

A painting by Myrteza Fushekrati (1942), made in 1976 00x120 cm was devoted to this artist and until 1990 it was displayed at the Gallery of Art in Tirana.

Sources

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tashko-Koco, Tefta 1910 births 1947 deaths Albanian sopranos Albanian women singers People from Faiyum People from Korçë 20th-century Albanian women opera singers Albanian operatic sopranos Conservatoire de Paris alumni

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 ...