Ignacio Cervantes Biography - A Very Quick Guide
Artist:
Ignacio Cervantes
Born:
1847
Died:
1905
Cuban composer and pianist Ignacio Cervantes (1847–1905) was born in Havana, where he showed early musical talent and studied piano with local teachers before entering the Paris Conservatoire. There he worked under Antoine Marmontel and met major figures including Rossini and Gounod. Cervantes returned to Cuba in the 1870s but spent periods in exile due to his support for Cuban independence, performing widely in the United States and Mexico.
Cervantes is best known for his Danzas Cubanas, a set of forty-one short piano pieces that blend European salon style with Cuban rhythmic and melodic elements. These works are considered foundational in the development of a distinctly Cuban classical idiom. He also composed songs, zarzuelas and chamber pieces, though much of his music is lost. Cervantes died in Havana in 1905 and is remembered as one of the most important early figures in Cuban nationalist music.
Cervantes is best known for his Danzas Cubanas, a set of forty-one short piano pieces that blend European salon style with Cuban rhythmic and melodic elements. These works are considered foundational in the development of a distinctly Cuban classical idiom. He also composed songs, zarzuelas and chamber pieces, though much of his music is lost. Cervantes died in Havana in 1905 and is remembered as one of the most important early figures in Cuban nationalist music.
Top Pieces on 8notes by Ignacio Cervantes