Cervantes, Ignacio

Cuban Romantic period composer and virtuoso pianist Ignacio Cervantes (1847-1905) studied under American Louis Gottschalk and at the Paris Conservatoire under Marmontel and Alkan. Gounod and Rossini were friends and Liszt admired his playing. In Havana, he followed mainstream Romantic thoughts, but also delved into the Cuban folk music. Foremost of his works in this area are the forty-one danzas he wrote, beginning at age ten and continuing through most of his life.