Albanian Piano Music

Due to its extreme isolation the musical development in Albania kept its own pace and direction, independent of what was happening in other countries. This new recording presents a unique overview of the music by Albanian composers of the 20th century. From the 1950´s on the musical life received a new impetus in the development of musical education systems and the founding of several symphony orchestras, and composers were inspired to write in a new national style, which was rooted in the rich folk music tradition of the country. The piano music presented here is generally in traditional style, highly attractive , alternating melancholy romanticism and joyous, rhythmically vibrant folk music. Marsida Koni is one of the foremost pianists of Albania. She studied in Italy with the famous pianist and teacher Franco Scala, and she founded a Piano Academy in Perugia. The booklet contains extensive liner notes about all the featured composers.