Western-trained Albanian singers appeared in the mid-1930s. Tefta Tashko, Gjorgjija Filce, and Maria Paluca were well-known sopranos who sang both operatic music and folk tunes. Kristaq Antoniu began his career as a tenor before World War II and continued it under the Communist regime. Filce and Paluca also remained musical stars after World War II.
Kristro Kono was the only composer of significance in pre-World War II Albania. He remains a highly rated composer under the Communist regime. In the 1950s he wrote several songs, some of which were dedicated to Enver Hoxha and Stalin. Some of his orchestral pieces are "Fantazi Shqiptare" (Albanian Fantasies) and "Agimi" (The Dawn). Konstantine Trako is another popular composer of the Communist period.
The predominant musical creations are songs with lyrics because they are effective means of inspiring patriotism and pro-Communist sentiments. All activity in the musical field is controlled and supported by the Party, primarily through the Union of Artists and Writers and the Ministry of Education and Culture. There are state-supported music academies and institutions for training in this field. Besides the many local musical groups, there are the state-supported Opera and Ballet Theater of Tirana and the Song and Dance Ensemble of Tirana ([see ch. 5], Social System).
Fine Arts
The first art school was established in Tirana in the 1930s. The curriculum of this school did not go beyond the fundamentals of art and, consequently, talented students had to go abroad. Vangjush Mijo and Androniqi Zengo were the first to introduce modern art to Albania in the form of impressionism. Mijo had studied in Italy and Zengo in Greece. Odhise Paskal was the only notable sculptor of prewar Albania. He had received his training in Florence. His creations include the Skanderbeg monument in Tirana and the National Warrior monument in Korce. Paskal and Zengo continued to work under the Communist regime.
Courses in the fine arts have increased since the end of World War II. Artists and sculptors are supported by the state, and the main themes of their creations are workers, peasants, partisan heroes, youth working on agricultural and industrial projects, soldiers, and liberated women in their various activities. Examples of artistic creations praised in the Albanian press are: "High Revolutionary Spirit" by M. Dhrami, "The Adult of the Republic" by K. Rama, and "The Partisans of the Revenge Battalion" by S. Shijaku. Besides Paskal, J. Paco and A. Mana have been cited as distinguished sculptors.