Olsi Leka
Olsi Leka, 29, is principal cellist with the National Orchestra of Belgium. He is Albanian and has lived in Brussels since he was a music student
I started learning the cello by chance when I was six years old. My first choice had been violin, but all the classes were full. Now I’m immensely glad I got my second choice. I grew up in Albania at the time of the Communist government, so my musical education was very strict, with exams every month and a great deal of pressure.
I sacrificed social activities and sports for the sake of practising the cello. Sometimes I doubted whether music was what I really wanted to do. But once I reached a certain level, I saw the possibilities and understood the sort of music I would be able to play if I continued to practise – that motivated me.
When I was 10, I won first prize in the Albanian Young Cellists’ Competition, then I won it again four years later in the senior category. Soon after, I had to choose whether to go to an academic high school or a music school. Once I realised that the cello could be my career, I saw that I shouldn’t miss the opportunity to focus on music.
I was lucky with my timing. The Albanian system changed while I was a child, and everyone became free to leave the country. I toured Belgium with the Albanian Youth Orchestra and made contact with a teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, who encouraged me to come here to study. Coming from Tirana, I found that everything here was different. Not only was I leaving my family, but I entered a whole new way of life. I left behind the conservative culture and restrictive rules of Albania, and discovered a much more open society.
At that time, Albania was losing its musical tradition because the top musicians were leaving the country to pursue opportunities elsewhere. My parents are both intellectuals, so they understood that studying in Brussels was a chance I should take.
Coming to the Royal Conservatory was a very important decision because that’s also where I met my fiancée, the harpist Samia Bousbaïne. We were both students playing in the school orchestra, and soon started playing duets together as the harp and cello duo Eden. Now I also teach cello at the Royal Conservatories of Music in Brussels and Antwerp.
When I completed my studies, I joined the National Orchestra of Belgium, becoming Principal Cellist at the age of 24. That was a great compliment but also a huge challenge. There are 10 cellists in the orchestra, some of them twice my age, so I had to earn their respect. I was their leader, but I also had to be sensitive to their feelings and to learn from them because I didn’t have their experience.
Being a musician is far more than just a job. One is constantly striving to prove oneself. Every time I perform, I have to defend my position. It’s a constant pressure, especially when performing a solo. My task is to understand the music and to communicate whatever the composer wanted to say. It’s vital to respect the composer, to give life to his message and to try to bring it intact to the public.
In the run-up to an important concert, I have a constant feeling of nervousness right up until the moment of performance, hoping that nothing will go wrong. Once it’s over, there’s a sense of relief and a few minutes of recognition from the public, but the next day, it’s on to the next concert. All musicians are searching for perfection. When I’m preparing for a performance, I’m connected to the music the whole time, even when I’m doing something else.
When I have a problem such as how to achieve the right fingering, my brain continues working on it subconsciously. Often I dream the solution in my sleep, then I wake up and know what I must do.
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