Brazil’s Música pela Cura Brings Shlomo Mintz for Kids With Cancer
Presented by TUCCA – Association for Children and Adolescents with Cancer, the concert series that has raised funds for medical care since 2000 pairs Mintz with a young Brazilian student orchestra in a night linking music, memory and healing.
Israeli violinist Shlomo Mintz, one of the most celebrated soloists of his generation, will take the stage in São Paulo next month in a performance that weaves together two threads of his career rarely combined on a single program: his connection to the Violins of Hope project, which honors instruments played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, and his commitment to mentoring young talent.
On August 2, Mintz will perform for the first time with the Tatuí Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, made up of students from one of Latin America’s leading music schools, at the Cultura Artística theater. The concert, titled “Violins for Peace and the cure,” will be conducted by Italian-Brazilian violinist and conductor Emmanuele Baldini, who also serves as concertmaster of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP).
The evening is being staged by TUCCA Música pela Cura, the cultural arm of a Brazilian nonprofit that funds treatment for children and adolescents with cancer, folding a night of classical music into a broader philanthropic mission.
A Nod to Violins of Hope
The concert’s title is a direct reference to a defining chapter of Mintz’s career. In September 2008, he was among the soloists at a Jerusalem concert that launched Violins of Hope, the project founded by Israeli luthiers Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom, who since 1996 have tracked down and restored instruments once owned by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Mintz performed on several of those restored instruments alongside violinists Yair Dalal and Cihat Askin, backed by the Istanbul Philharmonic and the Ra’anana Symphonette. He later returned to play instruments from the collection on other occasions, including with the Cleveland Orchestra; the project — now encompassing more than 60 restored instruments — has since been heard at venues including the Berlin Philharmonic, in a concert marking 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
Speaking ahead of the Brazil concert, Mintz said music carries a unique power in difficult times. “Music has the power to calm the soul, and for that reason it is necessary everywhere in the world, especially in challenging times like the ones we are living through today,” he said:
Bringing a glimpse of hope and harmony to Brazil has become a mission and a dream for me.
Program and Partners
The program opens with Mozart’s Concertone for Two Violins, K. 190 — written when the composer was just 18 — with Mintz and Baldini both performing as soloists. The second half features Mintz performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, a work once dismissed as unplayable by the violinist originally slated to premiere it, now a cornerstone of the repertoire, with Baldini leading the student orchestra. Bela Pulfer, artistic director of the TUCCA Música pela Cura project, said pairing an internationally established soloist like Mintz with young Brazilian musicians reflects the spirit of the initiative, describing it as a rare encounter between generations of musicians united by a shared purpose.
Mintz made his international debut at 16, performing at Carnegie Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under the guidance of his mentor Isaac Stern, and has since built a parallel career as a conductor, leading orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic.
Music in Service of a Medical Mission
All proceeds from the concert go to TUCCA, a São Paulo-based nonprofit that provides free treatment to children and teenagers with cancer in partnership with Santa Marcelina Saúde. Founded in 2000, the Música pela Cura program has become one of the organization’s key fundraising vehicles, staging international concert series at venues such as Sala São Paulo and Cultura Artística. The initiative was recognized in 2024 with São Paulo’s Governor’s Award in the Cultural Institution category.
Tickets for the August 2 concert are available at tucca.org.br.
Source: Digital Trix
