Biography
Originating from Albania, Redi Hasa pursues dual roles as cellist and composer. Renowned for the distinctive “singing cello” tone that defines his approach, he occupies a prominent place in the studio and touring ensembles assembled by the globally celebrated composer Ludovico Einaudi. Earlier he held a chair in Daniele Durante’s Orchestra La Notte Della Taranta. He has also accumulated dozens of recording credits with figures that stretch from Vito De Lorenzi to Robert Plant. The 2014 release Ura introduced his first collaborative album with Southern Italy’s most revered folk singer, Maria Mazzotta; the pair reconvened for the 2017 follow-up Novilunio. Hasa unveiled his initial solo project, The Stolen Cello, in 2020.
Born in Tirana, Albania, in 1977, he grew up with a mother who taught cello and a father who worked as a choreographer. Formal lessons began at age seven, and by thirteen he had mastered the standard classical repertoire on an instrument belonging to the state music academy. At twenty, while attending Tirana Conservatory, the regional unrest that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall escalated into outright civil war. Urged by his older brother to leave and rebuild elsewhere, he completed his studies, then emigrated to Italy as a refugee who spoke no local dialect, arriving by boat in the port of Bari. Apart from the clothes he wore, his sole possession was the academy’s cello, which he had taken in desperation, convinced it offered the only practical means of survival. His command of the instrument secured a scholarship that allowed him to resume training in Italy.
He performed at every available opportunity, sustaining himself through studio and sideman engagements that began appearing on disc with Xanti Yaca’s A Sud Di Niente and Zoè’s Miracolo. Joining the Notte Della Taranta Orchestra in 2008 did not interrupt these sessions. After Einaudi heard him with the ensemble in 2012, the composer recruited Hasa for his chamber group alongside violinist/violist Federico Mecozzi; their first joint recording was the 2013 album In a Time Lapse. That same year Hasa also launched his own discography with Ura, a joint venture alongside the renowned Southern Italian folk singer Maria Mazzotta. Extensive touring ensued, and his commanding stage presence soon led to further alliances with Kocani Orkestar, Boban Markovic, Bobby McFerrin, and Paolo Fresu, among others.
He contributed to Einaudi’s 2015 album Elements and participated in the ensuing world tour. Two years later he joined the composer’s Ponderosa Music & Art roster and reunited with Mazzotta for their second collaboration, Novilunio, continuing to share stages whenever schedules permitted. Shortly afterward Robert Plant invited him to record on what became the album Carry Fire. In 2019 Hasa rejoined Einaudi for the expansive, chart-topping Seven Days Walking project and its accompanying tour.
The same Decca team that had signed Einaudi offered Hasa a solo contract in late 2019. The Stolen Cello appeared the following September. On the record he layered multiple cello tracks to recount his personal narrative of life amid Albania’s intensifying conflict, subsequent exile carrying the stolen instrument featured throughout the sessions, and eventual resettlement in Italy.
Born in Tirana, Albania, in 1977, he grew up with a mother who taught cello and a father who worked as a choreographer. Formal lessons began at age seven, and by thirteen he had mastered the standard classical repertoire on an instrument belonging to the state music academy. At twenty, while attending Tirana Conservatory, the regional unrest that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall escalated into outright civil war. Urged by his older brother to leave and rebuild elsewhere, he completed his studies, then emigrated to Italy as a refugee who spoke no local dialect, arriving by boat in the port of Bari. Apart from the clothes he wore, his sole possession was the academy’s cello, which he had taken in desperation, convinced it offered the only practical means of survival. His command of the instrument secured a scholarship that allowed him to resume training in Italy.
He performed at every available opportunity, sustaining himself through studio and sideman engagements that began appearing on disc with Xanti Yaca’s A Sud Di Niente and Zoè’s Miracolo. Joining the Notte Della Taranta Orchestra in 2008 did not interrupt these sessions. After Einaudi heard him with the ensemble in 2012, the composer recruited Hasa for his chamber group alongside violinist/violist Federico Mecozzi; their first joint recording was the 2013 album In a Time Lapse. That same year Hasa also launched his own discography with Ura, a joint venture alongside the renowned Southern Italian folk singer Maria Mazzotta. Extensive touring ensued, and his commanding stage presence soon led to further alliances with Kocani Orkestar, Boban Markovic, Bobby McFerrin, and Paolo Fresu, among others.
He contributed to Einaudi’s 2015 album Elements and participated in the ensuing world tour. Two years later he joined the composer’s Ponderosa Music & Art roster and reunited with Mazzotta for their second collaboration, Novilunio, continuing to share stages whenever schedules permitted. Shortly afterward Robert Plant invited him to record on what became the album Carry Fire. In 2019 Hasa rejoined Einaudi for the expansive, chart-topping Seven Days Walking project and its accompanying tour.
The same Decca team that had signed Einaudi offered Hasa a solo contract in late 2019. The Stolen Cello appeared the following September. On the record he layered multiple cello tracks to recount his personal narrative of life amid Albania’s intensifying conflict, subsequent exile carrying the stolen instrument featured throughout the sessions, and eventual resettlement in Italy.
Albums
Singles
