The Patron Saint of Translators, as best I can tell, is William Weaver, who translates the original Italian of Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino into English. Translating (as you note) requires a particular genius that seems to be pretty rare.

(One of the things I like about Val Con is that he approaches the task of translating among languages he's fluent in with fear and trembling.)

Incidentally, Ich habe kein Deutsch, but I'm pretty good in French. Are there French editions of any Liaden Universe(tm) works?