"Cristina Ortiz is an artist who has evolved from child prodigy to maturity, determined to communicate her intuition, pianistic palette, emotion, and sensitivity to the world," as described by the Viennese newspaper 'Die Presse.' Based in England for many years, it is, however, the qualities inherent to her Brazilian culture - passion, spontaneity, and rhythmic flexibility - that most strongly shine through in her interpretations.
As a soloist with the most famous orchestras - Berlin, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Prague, Vienna, London - Cristina Ortiz has worked under the baton of Ashkenazy, Chailly, Foster, Jansons, Järvi, Kondrashin, Leinsdorf, Masur, Mehta, Previn, and Zinman, among others. As a chamber musician, she has performed alongside artists such as Antonio Meneses, Uto Ughi, Emanuel Pahud, Lynn Harrell, and the Prague Wind Quintet.
Possessing a vast and eclectic repertoire, whether in concerts or recordings, her commitment to Brazilian music is evident in the acclaimed 'premiere' of Guarnieri's "Chôro" at Carnegie Hall in New York or in the five Concertos by Villa-Lobos recorded for Decca. Cristina Ortiz continues her search for musical rarities through the works of Clara Schumann, Mompou, Stenhammar, Schulhoff, as well as Brazilian composers L. Fernandez and F. Vianna. Workshops and masterclasses have become more frequent, where she, in an engaging style, openly shares her musical experience with young pianists worldwide. She declares, "Teaching is also learning!"
In recent years, she has added the role of soloist/conductor to her musical repertoire, conducting Mendelssohn, for example, at the Musikverein in Vienna with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, or Mozart with the Consort of London, in a recording for Collins Classics. This opens up an infinite source for her insatiable appetite for repertoire, and beyond Mozart, Haydn, or Mendelssohn Concertos, Cristina Ortiz now sets her sights on the works of De Falla and Ravel."