Art Music of Albanians in Kosovo: First steps towards initiation and development phase division

Abstract

The development of Albanian Art Music in Kosovo started after World War II and it shared the same fate as other countries situated in the Balkans. Art Music of Kosovo has gone through different political, social and economic situations as all other countries which were part of the then ex- Yugoslavia (1918-1991). However, the impact was stronger due to the beginning of the last war in Kosovo (commencing in 1990, almost a decade before the war), a war that made ten mandatory years desertion of the cultural and educational life of Albanians in Kosovo. The above-mentioned political and social circumstances, as well as other dramatic changes within Kosovo have negatively affected the development of Albanian Art Music in Kosovo, which, from my perspective, was and is a neutral sphere of identity, as it started in a vacuum – i.e., an emptiness, in terms of its activities which did not exist before 20th century. This article, strives to identify the existence of Art Music in Kosovo whose development when observed, acts as evidence just how great an achievement can be reached over a very short period of time. Its main purpose is to highlight the first steps towards its initiation and also the growing European music tradition within a society which was isolated for centuries.