Mustafa Krantja

{{Short description|Albanian conductor (1921–2002)}} {{Infobox classical composer | name = Mustafa Krantja | image = Mustafa Krantja (portret).jpg | caption = Portrait of Mustafa Krantja, 1950s | birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|04|10}} | birth_place = Kavajë, Principality of Albania | death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|01|04|1921|04|10}} | death_place = Tirana, Albania | occupations = Conductor, Composer | known_for = Being the first conductor of the National Theater of Opera and Ballet<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nika |first1=Leonita |title=Nderohet dirigjenti i parë i operas Mustafa Krantja |url=https://abcnews.al/nderohet-dirigjenti-i-pare-i-operas-mustafa-krantja-i-biri-rrefen-emocionet-mes-dy-brezave/?amp=1 |access-date=16 October 2021 |publisher=ABC News}}</ref> | era = 20th century | children = Ermir Krantja<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vrapi |first1=Julia |title=Ermir Krantja: Muzika shqiptare, ende në tranzicion... |url=https://sot.com.al/kultura-intervista/ermir-krantja-muzika-shqiptare-ende-në-tranzicion |access-date=14 March 2013 |publisher=sot.com.al}}</ref> | list_of_works = | signature = Mustafa Krantja (nënshkrim).svg | signature_size = 100px }} '''Mustafa Krantja''' (10 April 1921 – 4 January 2002) was an Albanian classical music conductor and composer. He has written about 20 major works. Krantja was awarded the People's Artist award in 1956 and the Dvorak Medal in 1975.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=48V3kmpJEEgC&q=Mustafa+Krantja&pg=PA429|title=International Who's Who in Classical Music 2003: Volume 19 of International Who's Who in Classical Music|publisher=Europa Publications, Routledge|edition=19|year=2003|isbn=185743174X|page=429}}</ref>

==Early life and career== After graduating from the Academy of Arts in Prague in 1950, Krantja returned to Albania and in 1951 founded the Symphony Orchestra at the National Theater of Opera and Ballet. The following decade, in 1964, he founded the Conservatory of Arts which later would become the Higher Institute of Arts, today known as the University of Arts. He was one of the initiators in the establishment of the conducting branch in the institute.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lama |first1=Alma |title=Misteri i njeriut që krijoi orkestrën e parë simfonike |publisher=Koha Jonë |date=4 November 1999}}</ref>

Krantja's repertoire is quite extensive, featuring more than thirty premieres of operas and ballets performed at home and abroad. The first opera he directed was ''Rusalka'' by Russian composer Alexander Dargomyzhsky, whose success encouraged him to dedicate himself to the beautiful and difficult path of art. The added success of the opera ''The Bartered Bride'' by the czech composer Bedřich Smetana was also noteworthy, which he conducted with the symphony orchestras of Russia, Romania and the Czech Republic. Krantja conducted the first Albanian operas ''Mrika'' (1959) and ''Skënderbeu'' (1968), as well as the first Albanian ballet ''Halili and Hajria'' (1963) and many other Albanian orchestral works.

==Notable works== * "Rusalka" by Dargomyzhsky (1953) * "Ivan Susanin" by Glinka (1954) * "The Bartered Bride" by Smetana (1956) * "La Traviata" by Verdi (1956) * "Iolanta" by Tchaikovsky (1957) * "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini (1958) * "Cavalleria Rusticana" by Mascagni (1959) * "Mrika" by Prenkë Jakova (1959) * Performances from operas: "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart, "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky, "Il Trovatore" by Verdi (1961) * "Carmen" by Bizet (1962) * "La bohème" by Puccini (1963) * "Aleko" by Rachmaninoff (1963) * "Les pêcheurs de perles" by Bizet (1964) * The prologue of the opera "The Snow Maiden" by Rimsky-Korsakov (1964) * "Rigoletto" by Verdi (1965) * "Skanderbeg" by Prenkë Jakova (1968) * "Commissioner" by Nikolla Zoraqi (1975)

==Awards== thumb|150px|Krantja on a 2022 stamp of Albania * Order of the Working Class I & II * Prize of the Republic Class II * Order of "Naim Frashëri" Class I for artistic activities and for services in Albanian schools outside the political boundaries of the Albanian state. * Title "Distinguished Artist" of the People's Republic of Albania * Title "People's Artist" of the People's Republic of Albania * Scientific title of "Professor" * Medal of the 50th anniversary of liberation for contribution during the anti-fascist war (NÇL). * Medal of Honor from the Baku Opera in Azerbaijan. * "Permanent Honorary Member" of the International Center of Culture, Art and Literature with headquarters in the city of Brindisi (Italy) "Cikal" * The title of "Honorary Citizen" of the town of Kavajë, Albania. * The title of "Honorary Citizen" of the town of Cítoliby, Czech Republic. * Commemorative medal "Dvorak" by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krantja, Mustafa}} Category:Albanian conductors (music) Category:Albanian composers Category:Albanian male composers Category:1921 births Category:People's Artists of Albania Category:2002 deaths Category:20th-century Albanian musicians Category:20th-century conductors (music) Category:20th-century male musicians Category:People from Kavajë