As part of the 30th Annual Conference of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), pianist Ana Cervantes returns to The University of Texas at Dallas for a free concert Friday, Nov. 9, at 6:00 p.m. in the Conference Center.
Cervantes has been hailed as a “physical, emotional pianist…with an extraordinary touch” (Newark-Star Ledger). In 1999, she was presented with the Fulbright-García Robles award to develop repertoire of Mexican contemporary music for performance in the United States.
Her performance will include pieces from her most recent two-CD album, Rumor de Páramo, which features commissioned works of 17 composers from
four countries representing three generations as a tribute to Mexican writer Juan Rulfo. For many of these works, this concert will be the world premiere. Anna Picard, music critic for the Independent (UK), praised Rumor de Páramo as “a remarkable collection magnetically played.”
Cervantes says “for me as interpreter, the idea that the extraordinary work of Juan Rulfo – in all its beauty and its desolation, all its profound humanity— might draw from each of these composers their utterly singular and personal response” is magical. She believes “the circle both vital and virtual which connects composer-interpreter-listener becomes even more alive and vibrant, through the communion between interpreter and composer which results when one commissions music from the other.”
The conference, organized by the Center for Translation Studies at UT Dallas, will include bilingual readings, workshops and panels. ALTA hopes the conference will “be a forceful statement…that this organization is expanding the role and understanding of literary translation in creative ways moving into the 21st century.”
More information is available at http://ah.utdallas.edu/season0708/cervantes.htm.
For information about the many musical, arts, theatre, dance and other performances and exhibitions held throughout the year at UT Dallas, please call 972-UTD-ARTS (972-883-2787) or email utdarts@utdallas.edu. People with disabilities in need of special accommodations may call 972-883-2982, Texas Relay Operator: 1-800-RELAYVV.
Ana Cervantes will perform pieces from her album Rumor de Páramo, which features works commissioned as a tribute to Mexican writer Juan Rulfo.