Ftarri / Ftarri Festival 2019

Cristián Alvear

Cristián Alvear is a Chilean musician, born in 1979 in the city of Osorno. He is dedicated to the premiere, interpretation and recording of experimental and avant-garde music. He is curator of Relincha Festival in Valdivia, and since 2016 he has been the director of LOTE, an ensemble dedicated to the interpretation of avant-garde repertoire.

Alvear performs recitals both in Chile and abroad. He has performed in the festivals and concert cycles Cha'ak'ab Paaxil (Mérida, Mexico), Umbral Sessions (DF, Mexico), Frutillar Music Weeks (Frutillar, Chile), stand out Muzzix (Lille, France), Instants Chavirés (Montreuil, France), Café Oto (London, United Kingdom), Bang the Bore (Bristol, United Kingdom), Over the Top (Sheffield, United Kingdom), XI Festiwalu Muzyki Teatralnej (Wroclaw , Poland), Centrum Amarant (Poznan, Poland), Ftarri (Tokyo, Japan), Omise Space (Tokyo, Japan), le Osaki (Tokyo, Japan), Guggenheim House (Kobe, Japan), Yusuruago (Kyoto, Japan), Shangri-la (Sendai, Japan), Soutokuann (Osaka, Japan), La Voirie (Biel, Switzerland), Le Cabinet (Geneva, Switzerland), Dotolompic (Seoul, South Korea), Taiwan International Improvised Music Festival (Taipei, Taiwan ), Monteaudio17 (Montevideo, Uruguay), Säulenhalle Landhaus (Solothurn, Switzerland), AtelierKonzert (Basel, Switzerland), Tsonami Festival (Valparaíso, Chile) and International Festival of Contemporary Music of the University of Chile (Santiago, Chile), among others. He coordinates concerts and experimental music workshops in rural sectors of the Los Lagos region (Chile).

Alvear publishes his work on labels dedicated to contemporary and experimental music, including Edition Wandelweiser Records (Germany), Irritable Hedgehog (USA), Cathnor / Another Timbre (England), Rhizome.s (France), Potlatch (France), Erstclass (USA), Lava Language (Mexico), Caduc (Canada), Melange Records (Japan), 1000füssler (Germany), Makam (Portugal) and b-boim records (Austria).

In 2001, he was awarded (in a unanimous decision) the first prize and the prize for "best interpretation of a Chilean Work" in the National Guitar Competition "Liliana Pérez Corey." In December 2011, Alvear was selected among the "100 Young Leaders 2011" by the magazine El Sábado of the newspaper El Mercurio and the Adolfo Ibañez University. At the end of 2015 he was named "Artist of the Year" by the American magazine Tone Glow. At the beginning of 2016 he was chosen as one of the nine Latin artists who are changing the way music is made by the New York magazine Remezlca.


Cristián Alvear on the Ftarri, Hitorri, Meenna, and Improvised Music from Japan labels


Last updated: October 5, 2019

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