Cristián Alvear (Osorno, 1979) is a guitarist specializing in contemporary and experimental music, with an established international career premiering and performing avant-garde repertoire. He has released more than forty records on leading labels across Europe, the Americas and Asia — among them Edition Wandelweiser Records (DE), Another Timbre (UK), Potlatch (FR), Insub. (CH), Ftarri (JP), Mappa (SK), Zoomin' Night (CN), CADUC (CA), Pilgrim Talk (US), Lengua de Lava (MX) and b-boim (AU). His 2026 release on Insub., «sin título #30 & singularidad #1», brings together works by Nicolás Carrasco and Santiago Astaburuaga; a new record is due in August 2026 on Ftarri (JP): Michael Pisaro's «black, white, red, green, blue».
His work has been reviewed by international publications including The Guardian (UK), All About Jazz (US), Vital Weekly (NL), Fluid Radio (UK) and Dusted Magazine (US). He has performed at festivals and concert series across four continents: Dotolompic International Festival (Korea), Taiwan International Improvised Music Festival (Taiwan), XI Festiwal Muzyki Teatralnej (Poland), Cha'ak'ab Paaxil (Mexico), Festival Tsonami (Chile), Instants Chavirés (France), Café Oto (United Kingdom), Rhiz (Austria), Kud Mreža (Slovenia), Soloqui (Italy), Punctum (Czech Republic), Cave 12 (Switzerland), Ftarri (Japan), Monteaudio17 at the Universidad de la República (Uruguay), Festival de Música Contemporánea UC, Festival de Música Contemporánea of the Universidad de Chile and Semanas Musicales de Frutillar.
In 2016 he was named among the nine Latin artists changing the way music is made by the New York magazine Remezcla, and in late 2015 he was named Artist of the Year by the US publication Tone Glow. In Chile, he was chosen in 2018 among the 50 Young Leaders of the Los Lagos Region by the newspaper El Llanquihue; in December 2011 he was selected among the 100 Young Leaders by El Sábado magazine, of El Mercurio, and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez; and in 2001 he won — unanimously — first prize at the «Liliana Pérez Corey» National Guitar Competition, together with the award for Best Performance of a Chilean Work.
He holds a PhD in Arts with a specialization in Music from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2026). He teaches at the Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano and in the Master's programme in Performance at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.