Çesk Zadeja

Çesk [Françesk] Zadeja
(b Shkodra, 8 June 1927; d Rome, 15 Aug 1997). Albanian composer. Introduced to music by Gjoka and Jakova at the elementary school in Shkodra, he studied at the Accademia di S Cecilia, Rome (1942–3).

After the liberation in 1944 he worked as director of music at the radio station in Shkodra, at which time he made his decisive encounter with the folk music and especially the epic songs of northern Albania. He worked in Tirana as assistant conductor of the Ensemble of the People's Army (1947–51) before undertaking further studies at the Moscow Conservatory (1951–6), where his teachers included Bogatïryov and Chulaki. On returning to Tirana, he became the first artistic director (1957–62) of the newly-founded State Ensemble of Folksongs and Dances, then head of composition at the Conservatory (1962–6), director of the Conservatory (1966–72) and artistic director of the Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Tirana (1973–9). As a ‘free professional composer’ (from 1979), salaried by the State, he continued to teach composition at the Conservatory and to act as an artistic adviser to the Opera.

A highly significant figure in postwar Albanian music, Zadeja moved stylistically from late romanticism and neo-classicism to expressionism, while retaining in his music certain characteristic attributes, such as flowing textures, economy of means and a taste for strong contrasts. His only symphony (1956), its melodic material based on folk modes, is reputed to be the first by an Albanian. Other instrumental works, such as the Piano Concerto (1968) and the Violin Sonata (1972–4) are direct in their appeal and demonstrate an innovative approach to traditional form. Vocal music forms the core of his output: in the Choral Suite no.7 (1984) the skill of his writing for the voices, which here imitate folk instruments, makes all the more regrettable his avoidance of opera. His dramatic flair nonetheless found an outlet in ballets such as Para stühise, whose strikingly dissonant and chromatic score creates interest sufficient to transcend the politically conventional plot. In his last years his writing became even more advanced while his statements became even more dramatic and introvert.