His interest in contemporary music has made him carry out a significant amount of worldwide premieres and recordings of Spanish and American authors. In santa Fe (Argentina) he creates the “Encuentros de Compositores Hispanoamericanos” and since 2004  collaborates with the “Núcleo Música Nueva” in Montevideo and also with the orchestra SODRE, in order to release and recover Latinamerican music. In the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid and with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid has also released music by Marisa Manchado for the concert-projection  La Passion de Jean d’Arc, by Dreyer.

His work as an opera conductor is also significant: in the last years he has directed productions of La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Un Ballo in Maschera, Il Trovatore, Così fan Tutte, Don Pasquale, Lucia di Lammermoor, Mefistófele, etc. presented in the most important Spanish theatres. He allso directs zarzuela, working on classic repertoire and meanwhile collaborating regularly with the Opera Cómica de Madrid in order to restage and recover hardly represented works: Mis dos mujeres, Gloria y peluca, El relámpago, El dominó azul. Carlos Cuesta has recorded some of these works for the label Iberautor.

From 1990 to 1995 he was Professor of the Orquesta Nacional de España.

As a Guest Director in Europe, America and Asia, he has conducted the following orchestras: Orquesta Sinfónica de la Comunidad de Madrid, Orquesta  Sinfónica de la RTVE,  Orquesta Sinfónica Pablo Sarasate, Orquesta Municipal de Oviedo,  Orquesta Sinfónica Ciudad de Málaga,  South Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of Americas (Florida), Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas, Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo, Orquesta Sinfónica de Rosario, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de El Salvador, Orquesta de la Universidad de Monterrey, National Academy Kazashstan and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra,  keeping a follow-up artistic bond afterwards.

From 1995 to 2002 Carlos Cuesta has been conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Santa Fe, reaching a high artistic level. The international recordings “Cantata Martín Fierro” by Juan José Castro and “América Llamando” and some worldwide premieres of Hispanoamerican works also contribute to his success. In 2001 he received the following award: “Primer Premio Nacional a la Excelencia Artística y Profesional” in Argentina.-

For the last five years, spanish conductor Carlos Cuesta has developped an intense commitment with Hanoi Philarmonic Orchestra, that has let him to be in charge of several significant events, including te Beethoven 9th Symphony performance fore the Milenium Celebration on 2010 October the 1st, at the Opera House.