Ignacio Cervantes Kawanag (1847 – 1905) was a Cuban
pianist and composer. He was influential in the
creolization of Cuban music. A child prodigy, he was
taught by pianist Juan Miguel Joval, later by composer
and tutor Nicolás Ruiz Espadero in 1859, and by the
visiting American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
Gottschalk encouraged Cervantes to study at the
Conservatoire de Paris (1866–1870) under Antoine
François Marmontel and Charles-Valentin Alkan, where
he was awarded first prizes in c...(+)
Ignacio Cervantes Kawanag (1847 – 1905) was a Cuban
pianist and composer. He was influential in the
creolization of Cuban music. A child prodigy, he was
taught by pianist Juan Miguel Joval, later by composer
and tutor Nicolás Ruiz Espadero in 1859, and by the
visiting American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
Gottschalk encouraged Cervantes to study at the
Conservatoire de Paris (1866–1870) under Antoine
François Marmontel and Charles-Valentin Alkan, where
he was awarded first prizes in composition (1866) and
harmony (1867). He also performed with Christina
Nilsson and Adelina Patti.
In 1875 Cervantes and José White left Cuba when warned
by the Governor-General: he had found out that they had
been giving concerts all over the country to raise
money for the rebel cause in the Ten Years' War. In the
United States and Mexico Cervantes continued to raise
money by giving concerts until the Pact of Zanjón
brought a lull in conflict. He returned in 1878 and
left again in 1895 when the Cuban War of Independence
started.
Cervantes wrote one opera (Maledetto, 1895), various
chamber pieces (Scherzo cappricioso, 1885), zarzuelas,
and the famous forty-one Danzas Cubanas. He also
conducted for the Opera company at Havana's Payret
Theater. His Fusión de Almas was written to his
daughter, María Cervantes (1885–1981), who became a
well-known pianist, composer and singer.
"Cervantes was one of the first musicians in the
Americas to consider nationalism to be a consequence of
a people's distinct character; he was thus a great
forebear to later composers."
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignacio_Cervantes)
Although originally written for Piano, I created this
Interpretation of ¿Porque, eh? (No. 2) from "Two Cuban
Dances" for Flute & Piano.