Zeqirja Ballata: Style and Creative Identity

Abstract

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the composer Zeqirja Ballata, one of the central figures of twentieth-century Albanian art music, whose creative output represents an important meeting point between national tradition and European modernist aesthetics. Through the analysis of his compositional language, the aim is to argue that Ballata constructs an individualized style in which Albanian folk modalities intertwine with contemporary compositional techniques such as serialism, modality, and polystylism, creating a coherent and original artistic expression. The study also addresses the way he conceives folklore not as an ethnographic quotation element, but as a fundamental structure that generates the harmonic, rhythmic, and formal logic of his works. Through comparative analyses with composers such as Béla Bartók, Witold Lutosławski, and Aaron Copland, it is emphasized that Ballata has succeeded in transforming national elements into a modern aesthetic system, continuing the tradition represented by Çesk Zadeja and his generation. His oeuvre presents a balanced synthesis between modernist abstraction and cultural identity, marking a mature phase in the development of contemporary Albanian music and in its integration into the European context.