Heidelberg University
Joint PhD program in Asian and Transcultural Studies at the Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS). Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler.
Luigi Miotto 盧逸
PhD candidate, freelance interpreter, translator, and classical guitarist.
Lost in translation (and sometimes on the way)
借翻譯與音樂逃「逸」日常，地圖上偶爾迷「盧」。
Browse by area
01ResearchChinese music theory translation history · contemporary Chinese-to-Arabic institutional translation02TranslationChinese → Italian · Ping Lu, 202503InterpretingChinese<>Italian & Italian<>English · conferences, festivals & official visits04Academic ExperienceTranslation & interpreting · music
Profile
Bio
Luigi Miotto is a PhD candidate in Asian and Transcultural Studies in a joint PhD program between Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Heidelberg University, supervised by Prof. Dr. Paolo Magagnin and Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler. He holds two master’s degrees from Ca’ Foscari: one in Chinese–English Translation and Interpreting, and one in Languages, Economics and Institutions of Arab Countries. A classically trained musician, he completed a BA and an MA in Classical Guitar at Padua’s “Cesare Pollini” Conservatory of Music, including an exchange period at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo in Porto.
His PhD research focuses on transcultural resonances in the Chinese translation of music theory terminology since the late seventeenth century. He also researches Sino-Arab relations and contemporary Chinese-to-Arabic institutional translation. In fall 2025, he was a visiting researcher at the Graduate Institute of Musicology, National Taiwan University (Taipei).
01 · Research
Translation across time and institutions
TransMuTe: Transcultural Resonances in the Chinese Translation of Music Theory Terminology Since the Late 17th Century
Joint PhD Program in Asian and Transcultural Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Heidelberg University (2024–present). Supervised by Prof. Dr. Paolo Magagnin and Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler.
How was music theory terminology translated and (re)interpreted in Chinese from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth century? Across these transcultural encounters, how did translators, texts, and cultural networks negotiate musical concepts and the production of knowledge?
Sino-Arab relations and institutional translation
How does translation shape China’s international discourse and strategic narratives for Arabic-speaking audiences?
Research visits
National Taiwan University and National Taiwan University of Arts
Visiting researcher at the Graduate Institute of Musicology, National Taiwan University, and the Department of Chinese Music, National Taiwan University of Arts. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Shen Tung 沈冬.
Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
2024 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists, funded by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China.
Selected publications and conference papers
Journal article
Gallelli, Beatrice, Luigi Miotto, and Tanina Zappone. 2025. “Strategic Narratives across the Strait: A Comparative Analysis of the English, Italian, and Arabic Versions of The Governance of China (I).” Lingue Culture Mediazioni / Languages Cultures Mediation 12 (2): 35–63. doi:10.7358/lcm-2025-002-gall.
(Forthcoming 2026) · Book review
Miotto, Luigi. Review of Wen-chin Ouyang, Ethical Living through Stories: Encounters with Adab (London: I.B. Tauris, 2025). Maydan: Rivista sui mondi arabi, semitici e islamici 6.
Conference papers and presentations
With Beatrice Gallelli and Tanina Zappone: “Translating Strategic Narratives across the Strait: A Comparative Analysis of the English, Italian, and Arabic Versions of The Governance of China.” Panel: “Telling China’s Story to the World: Strategic Narratives and the Discursive Contest over World Order.”
Conference theme: “Arts and Technology in East Asian Translation.” Paper: “Harmonic Translation” (and Censorship) of European Art Writing: the Lülü Zuanyao 律呂纂要 as Host to Music Theory in Late 17th-century China.
“Zooming In, Zooming Out: Dynamizing Transcultural Encounters in Sino-European Music Theory Exchanges (Late 17th–Early 20th Century) through Digital Humanities.”
“Hidden Voices in Polyphonic Translation: Tomás Pereira, the Lülü Zuanyao 律呂纂要, and Chinese Cultural Intermediaries in the Introduction of European Music Theory in Late 17th-century China.”
“Lülü Zuanyao 律呂纂要 (‘Essentials of the Pitchpipes’): Between Polyphonic Translation and Transcultural Resonances.”
“Beyond the Technical Appendix: Transcultural Resonances of Chinese Music Terminology in the Second pian 篇 of the Lülü Zuanyao 律呂纂要.”
“Contraponto textual no Lülü Zuanyao 律呂纂要: Tomás Pereira, a ‘tradução polifónica’ e a rede sino-portuguesa de construção do saber musical na China de finais do século XVII.”
With Beatrice Gallelli and Tanina Zappone: “Strategic Narratives across the Strait: A Comparative Analysis of the English, Italian, and Arabic Versions of Xi Jinping’s speeches.”
Paper: “Hidden Voices in Polyphonic Translation: Tomás Pereira, the Lülü Zuanyao 律呂纂要, and Chinese Cultural Intermediaries in the Introduction of European Music Theory in Late 17th-century China.”
02 · Translation & Interpreting
Selected work and assignments
Translation
Duino, Giovanna; Nastassia Habrielchyk; Luigi Miotto. “Storie d’infanzia.” In Federica Passi, ed., Ping Lu. Anima di pioggia leggera. Venice: Cafoscarina, 2025, 84–109. Translation from Chinese into Italian.
Interpreting
Chinese<>Italian and Italian<>English consecutive, simultaneous and whispered interpreting (chuchotage) for institutional meetings, public events, conferences and festivals.
Selected settings: Venice Airport, Pitti Immagine and Incroci di Civiltà.
Full interpreting record
- Air China Venice–Beijing inaugural flight (1–2 July 2026), Venice, for SAVE Group. Master of Ceremonies and Chinese<>Italian interpreter at the gala dinner and press conference. Chinese>Italian consecutive interpreting for Air China’s Director General for Europe, Wu Feng, and Italian>Chinese consecutive interpreting for SAVE Group President Enrico Marchi in conversation with Consul General Zhang Chenggang and Embassy Minister Counsellor Luo Jin.
- Pitti Immagine Filati (Pitti Filati 95–99, June 2024–June 2026), Florence, for Accademia Meiqiao / Industria Italiana Filati. Chinese<>Italian consecutive interpreting for Industria Italiana Filati’s agent in China, who also manages Accademia Meiqiao (上海美乔服饰有限公司). Assignments: Pitti Filati 99 (24–26 June 2026), 98 (21–23 January 2026), 97 (1–3 July 2025), 96 (28–30 January 2025) and 95 (25–27 June 2024).
- SAVE Group and Shanghai Airport Authority meeting (10 June 2026), Venice. Italian<>Chinese consecutive interpreting for the SAVE Group delegation (President, CEO, Aviation Commercial Director, CFO, and COO) and the Shanghai Airport Authority delegation (President; Deputy General Manager of Shanghai International Airport Co.; CFO; and Director of Asset Management). The meetings took place at Marco Polo Airport and Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal.
- “Methodological Analysis in Foundational Guitar Pedagogy” conference and workshop (25–29 May 2026), Arrigo Pedrollo Conservatory of Music, Vicenza. Italian<>English simultaneous whispered interpreting for guest speaker Prof. Stefano Viola. Prof. Riccardo Tamai supervised and coordinated the event as part of “JerusItArts—Between Italy and Jerusalem.”
- Ping Lu in conversation at Incroci di Civiltà (16–17 April 2026), Venice. Italian<>Chinese consecutive interpreting for Prof. Federica Passi and Taiwanese author Ping Lu 平路 at the festival and the following day’s event at Ca’ Foscari’s Department of Asian and North African Studies.
- SAVE Group and Air China Group meeting (3 December 2025), Venice. Italian<>Chinese consecutive interpreting for the SAVE Group President, Chief Operating Officer and Airline & Network Manager, and the Air China Group Senior Vice President, Vice Chairwoman of the Commercial Committee, President’s Assistant, Air China Italy General Manager and China/Italy Market Sales Manager. Meetings took place at Marco Polo Airport and Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal.
- “Design Without Borders: China & Europe Design Talk” (8 April 2025), Milan Design Week / Interni FuoriSalone, University of Milan. Italian<>English simultaneous interpreting for KUKA Home and Interni Magazine.
- SAVE Group and AVINEX (Shanghai Airport Group) meeting (24–25 March 2025), Venice. Italian<>Chinese consecutive interpreting for the SAVE Group President, CEO and Aviation Commercial Director, and AVINEX (Shanghai Airport Authority) President, Board Secretary, Marketing Department General Manager and Brain Lab Chief Scientist. Meetings took place at The Gritti Palace and Marco Polo Airport.
- Chinese Writers’ Residency Program (31 October–7 November 2024; 5–12 November 2023), Venice. Chinese<>Italian liaison interpreting for writers Wang Anyi 王安忆 (2024) and Xia Jia 夏笳 (2023), hosted by Ca’ Foscari University.
- Official visit by Li Xi 李希 (2 November 2024), Venice. Li Xi was then a Member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Italian>Chinese consecutive interpreting for the Venetian delegation led by Regional Council President Roberto Ciambetti and Ca’ Foscari Rector Tiziana Lippiello.
- “The Aesthetics of Oriental Materials” (12 October 2024), Capsule Shanghai in Venice. Chinese>Italian consecutive interpreting at the event (材质的东方学), featuring Wang Hui 汪晖, Professor Emeritus at Tsinghua University’s School of Humanities and Director of the Tsinghua Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and Gu Yan 谷燕, Director of Beijing Yuan Art Museum 北京元典美术馆.
- China Eastern Airlines Venice–Shanghai inaugural flight (26 September 2024), Venice, for SAVE Group. Master of Ceremonies and Chinese<>Italian interpreter for the press conference and gala dinner; Chinese>Italian consecutive interpreting for Ambassador Jia Guide 贾桂得, Shanghai Airport President Yun Qin 秦云 and China Eastern Chief Pilot Shi Fukang 石富康.
- Official meeting in Shijiazhuang (14–21 May 2023), for “Cesare Pollini” Conservatory’s international relations office. Chinese<>Italian liaison interpreting.
Tutoring for Chinese students
Part-time language tutor at Padua’s “Cesare Pollini” Conservatory of Music (March 2022–October 2023), supporting Chinese students in their communications with faculty and administrative staff and helping them navigate administrative procedures. Also assisted the International Relations Office in its work with Chinese institutions and translated website content into Chinese. An earlier internship (October–December 2021) involved website translation and assistance to students.
Selected events
03 · Music
Classical guitar
Training
MA in Classical Guitar
Final grade: 110/110, with honors. Thesis: “Six Strings on the Silk Road. Stephen Goss’s The Chinese Garden.” Discussed 3 July 2023.
BA in Classical Guitar
Final grade: 110/110, with honors. Thesis: “Trois Saudades: ‘fazer das tripas coração’. Roland Dyens’s Synthesis of Saudade, Folklore and Innovative Elements.” Discussed 28 October 2020.
Erasmus+ exchange
Licenciatura em Música, Variante de Instrumento (Guitarra); guitar studies with Artur Caldeira.
Selected performances
- “A Six-Stringed Chinese Garden: The Translation of Chinese Aesthetic Negativity in Stephen Goss’s The Chinese Garden (2007),” CATS Library Evening Short, Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies, Heidelberg University, 13 July 2026.
- “Six Strings of Autumn. The Bittersweet Aftertaste of Saudade” (秋日六弦:「Saudade」之苦甜回甘), no. 280 in the College of Liberal Arts Concerts series, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 14 November 2025.
- 40th Foz Côa Poetry & Music Festival, Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal, 23–27 April 2024; 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution.
- “I sabati del Conservatorio,” “Cesare Pollini” Auditorium, Padua, 7 May 2022. Solo guitar in Sergio Chiereghin’s Concerto per due chitarre e orchestra, first performance in Italy.
- “Pollini On Air” performance video, “Cesare Pollini” Auditorium, Padua, 21 January 2021.
- 35th Foz Côa Poetry & Music Festival, Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal, 23–27 April 2019.
04 · Experience
Academic Experience
Specialist tutor · Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
- September 2026–January 2027 · 30 hours — Chinese Translation Methods and Text Types [LM7305], MA in Translation and Interpreting.
- March–July 2026 · 30 hours — Chinese Language (Business Negotiation) [LT001I], BA in Languages, Cultures and Societies of Asia and Mediterranean Africa.
- March–July 2026 · 30 hours — Chinese–Italian Consecutive Interpreting I [LM7020], MA in Translation and Interpreting.
- September 2025–January 2026 · 30 hours — Chinese Translation Methods and Text Types [LM7305], MA in Translation and Interpreting.
- February–June 2025 · 30 hours — Chinese–Italian Consecutive Interpreting I [LM7020], MA in Translation and Interpreting.
- September 2024–January 2025 · 30 hours — Chinese Translation Methods and Text Types [LM7305], MA in Translation and Interpreting.
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Theory of Music Harmony and Analysis (乐理视唱专业课), taught in Chinese and Italian in both semesters of the 2023–24 academic year.
Shijiazhuang University
Theory of Music Harmony and Analysis 1 (和声与分析理论1) for first-year BA students in the Music Studies program (音乐学本科教育项目), during the second semester of 2022–23. Taught in Chinese and Italian as part of a partnership between Shijiazhuang University and “Cesare Pollini” Conservatory of Music in Padua.
CV
Education, languages & affiliations
Browse the full CV by section, or search by name, institution, course, event or date.
Education
PhD in Asian and Transcultural Studies
International joint PhD program. 2026-2027 academic year: enrolled in the third year of the PhD (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice: 40th cycle). Research topics: Chinese music terminology and translation history. Project title: “TransMuTe: Transcultural Resonances in the Chinese Translation of Music Theory Terminology Since the Late 17th Century.” Supervisors: Paolo Magagnin (Ca’ Foscari) and Barbara Mittler (Heidelberg).
MA in Languages, Economics and Institutions of Asia and Mediterranean Africa (Arabic)
- Program
- LM-38, Languages for International Communication and Cooperation; Arabic Language, Politics and Economics track.
- Final grade
- 110/110, with honors.
- Thesis
- “Tailoring International Discourse: Translation Strategies in the Arabic Version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volumes I & II).”
- Discussed
- 24 March 2025
MA in Translation and Interpreting (Chinese–English)
- Program
- LM-94, Translation for Specific Purposes and Interpreting; Chinese–English–Italian track.
- Final grade
- 110/110, with honors.
- Thesis
- “Music for the Emperor’s Ears. Tomás Pereira and the Lülü Zuanyao: Analysis and Translation Proposal for Volume I.”
- Discussed
- 15 October 2024
BA in Languages, Cultures and Societies of Asia and Mediterranean Africa (Chinese–Arabic)
- Program
- China track, with a focus on economics and law; languages: Chinese and Arabic.
- Final grade
- 110/110, with honors.
- Thesis
- “A Different Kind of Music? An Investigation into the Chinese Translation of Western Music Terminology.”
- Discussed
- 20 July 2022
High School Diploma – Liceo Classico
Final grade: 100/100.
Working languages
- Italian
- English
- Mandarin Chinese
- Portuguese
- Arabic
- Spanish
Memberships
- Italian Association for Chinese Studies (AISC)
- European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS)
- Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
- History and Translation Network (HNT)