Tefta Tashko-Koco

Tefta Tashko-Koço was an Albanian singer and soprano who was a leading figure in the regional music industry and is considered one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century in the Albanian-speaking world. She was posthumously awarded the prestigious title People’s Artist. She was born into an Albanian family in Faiyum, Egypt, and moved to Korçë, Albania, in 1921. She studied singing in France and performed operatic and chamber music as well as Albanian urban songs. She recorded Albanian urban lyric songs for the Columbia Society in Italy in 1937 and 1942, and was a regular performer on Radio Tirana since its foundation in 1938. She was accompanied by Lola Gjoka, and sang songs written specifically for her by the Albanian music composer Kristo Kono. She married Kristaq Koço and had a son together, Eno Koço, currently a musical director and scholar. She died unexpectedly in 1947, aged just 36.