Alejandra is a fine conductor, and a meticulous, refined musician.
Iván Fischer, Conductor of Budapest Festival Orchestra
I had the unexpected opportunity to serve as concertmaster under the brilliant Chilean conductor Alejandra Urrutia this past January in a number of concerts in Portillo and Santiago.
Alejandra had total command of the music and of the orchestra. What struck me the most was that she had a vision for each piece we played. And her ability to communicate this vision to the orchestra and audience was impressive. She is a charismatic performer who brings the great qualities of honesty, clarity and warmth to everything she approaches. I enjoyed the experience enormously.
Peter Winograd, 1st Violin, The American String Quartet
Exciting, Support-Free Mahler
…Thus, delivering a performance of the aforementioned Mahlerian work with the quality achieved on this occasion can only be described as a miracle—or, more earthly put, as the wonderful result of a hard work done “support-free”, which must be seen as an infinite love for music and the desire to share it… Alejandra Urrutia deserves praise for her great conducting, and also for leading the organization and production of this Concert for Humanity, whose definitive establishment seems to be mandatory for years to come.
Mario Córdova, Las Últimas Noticias newspaper, Chile, January 17th 2020
Makes one weep as I have done now listening to this extraordinary concert. It renews all one’s energies and determination to make our outreach like this everywhere and how inspiring it can really be!!!
I am moved to the core. And delving to find the strength to live up to this…!!!
Love and immense thanks to you Francisco [Bricio] for being there and for knowing that this is us!!! And must be more and more in the future!!!!! So grateful for this opportunity and for our future and let’s dream! And do!!!
All my love to all!!!
Marina Mahler, Founder and President of Mahler Foundation
I am so deeply moved by this performance!!! Bravi to all. What a testament to the power of this music. And what an awe-inspiring example of what we must bring to the world.
Morten Solvik, Vice-President of Mahler Foundation, musicologist and foremost Mahler specialist
What a great performance! Urrutia is fantastic, please let’s see and hear more of her – the soloists and orchestra were stunning, and the ‘Beginner’s’ Chorus was very impressive. Plus, the video direction was superb (though the camera tracking around in front of the orchestra must have been distracting…) – there’s a real sense of being there.
Tony Bridge, sound engineer of legendary classical recordings for EMI and Sony
We worked together in summer. She was very talented, with a great ear and first-class musical tastes. She impressed everyone with a piece of Madame Butterfly that requires a technique of a high caliber for any conductor.
Hugh Wolff, Director of Orchestras at the New England Conservatory of Music
The concert ended with Béla Bartók’s Six Romanian Folk Dances, the result of the tireless research work of a composer who, by exploring “alternative” peasant and popular musics, radically renovated the classical language. The pieces, originally written for piano in 1915 and orchestrated in 1917, preserve their original spirit, with exotic orientalisms and ecstatic dancing whirlwinds. The performance, under Alejandra Urrutia’s expert guidance, had the required flexibility, capriciousness and brightness.
Jaime Donoso, El Mercurio newspaper, Chile, October 9th 2017
Alejandra Urrutia’s baton has skill.
Mario Córdova, Las Últimas Noticias newspaper, Chile, March 15th 2017
Alejandra Urrutia is not only the first Chilean woman who stands out in conducting professional orchestras: she is quite simply one of the best conductors of this country, just as her recent concerts in Santiago have demonstrated….
The Symphony Orchestra of Chile is a malleable ensemble, very sensitive to the precision of their guide’s baton. For this reason, it’s doubly remarkable what Alejandra Urrutia achieved in the main piece of the program: Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The conductor dared to risk an intense version, full of innovations in tempi and dynamics which gave this well-known piece all the emotional impact of a first encounter. This is how the public felt it, judging by their endless ovations.
Felipe Elgueta, El Sur newspaper, Chile, 21st May 2016
“Transfigured Night” by Schoenberg… the work is a continuum of permanent fluctuations of character and tempo, very complex to perform, that in the hands of Alejandra Urrutia flowed naturally, with sublime moments (the feminine touch?), achieving a very beautiful version.
Jaime Donoso, El Mercurio newspaper, Chile, 15th May 2016