Created in 1970 as an initiative of the São Paulo State Government, the Campos do Jordão Winter Festival was born out of a desire to transform the mountain town into a cultural hub on par with the great European festivals.The idea was conceived by Luís Arrobas Martins, then Secretary of Finance and an arts enthusiast, who envisioned the Boa Vista Palace as the ideal stage for classical music concerts during the winter season.
To bring the project to life, Arrobas enlisted the consultancy of Camargo Guarnieri, one of Brazil’s greatest composers. It was Guarnieri who helped shape the festival’s first steps and who, from the beginning, identified its core mission: to combine outstanding performances with the training of young musicians.
The first edition brought together major figures from the Brazilian music scene, such as Magda Tagliaferro, and quickly established itself as a cultural landmark for Campos do Jordão. However, it was in the following years—particularly from 1973 onwards, under the direction of conductor Eleazar de Carvalho—that the Festival solidified its educational approach, inspired by the model of the Tanglewood Festival (USA), with an intense schedule of courses and concerts.
It was also during this period that the partnership with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (Osesp) was formed—an alliance that proved fundamental to the event’s professionalization. Despite ups and downs over the decades, the Festival became a continental reference, celebrating talent, promoting exchange, and nurturing generations of musicians. Today, it stands as the largest classical music festival in Latin America and a symbol of Brazil’s cultural vitality.
Throughout its history, the Festival has welcomed artists such as Arthur Moreira Lima, Nelson Freire, Maria João Pires, Isaac Karabtchevsky, Radamés Gnattali, Antonio Meneses, Arnaldo Cohen, Emmanuele Baldini, Midori, Pinchas Zukerman, Jean-Louis Steuerman, Karin Lechner, Emerson String Quartet, Brodsky Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma, and Marin Alsop, among many other renowned names who have shaped the classical music scene in Brazil and around the world.
