This evening in the old theatre of the Faculty of Art of the University of Tirana (C.1933) the RadioTelevizionit Shqiptar Orkestra (radio-television orchestra of Albania) was giving a free concert, as is usually the norm in Albania. The orchestra was created in May 1962 under the Stalinist Regime of Enver Hoxha. It is a very good orchestra and a lot of its members are the original crew. The conductor is one Nir Kabaretti of Santa Barbara, California, who appears to belong to the ham fisted school of conducting. The soloist was Mirela Kokasykja who played the piano concerto opus 54 of Schumann, on a piano that needed tuning. The music auditorium is quite small about 500 seats, built like a bunker in concrete, poor acoustics and it has never been renovated since 1933, you can well imagine the terrible state of the place, the stuffing coming out of the chairs and the smell of mildew, dried sweat and stale cigarettes, I think it use to be called the smell of old communism. The chandelier in the ceiling is missing and the paint is peeling off the walls. Also during the concert people talk and take calls on their cel phones. But I have to say that though the Faculty is full of ghosts of the last 80 years it is sad but at the same time fascinating.
The faculty buildings of the University of Tirana stand at the end of the great boulevard built in the 1930's by the Italians for Mussolini, at the opposite end of the great square of Skanderberg currently under massive renovation by a Kuwaiti firm.
Though the concert was free only about 50 people showed up, many quite elderly.
On the main boulevard this week a protest by the Socialist party of Edi Rama,they set-up tents and are blocking the street, each night speeches to a light crowd who I am told is paid to attend and listening half-heartily. Lots of police around but not one has a gun or any weapon, just looking around.
Here at the Hotel Rogner (Austrian owned) jazz concerts on Thursday and Friday nights in the lush gardens. The music is quite good, it reminded me of Budapest. This is probably the best hotel in Tirana in terms of comfort, services, amenities and price.
Tomorrow return to la Citta Eterna.
Good for them. We do get a fair trickle of musicians from Albania who make it internationally...actually now I've said that I'm trying to think and only mezzo Enkeleda Shkosa comes to mind. But there are others.
ReplyDeleteDavid, these musicians should really be applauded because they work under very difficult circumstances. Also today there is not much appreciation in Albania for classical music and for the arts. Consumerism is everywhere and it tends to be cheap.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, an Albanian soprano and tenor have just opened yet another revival of the tired old Eyre Traviata at Covent Garden. How blase of me to choose not to go when I had the option - might have been rather good.
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