Shlomo Mintz is an Israeli violinist, violist, conductor, and music educator. He was born in Moscow on October 30, 1957, and moved to Israel with his family in 1959.
He studied with Ilona Feher, who introduced him to Isaac Stern, later his mentor. Mintz began his career at age 11 as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Mehta invited him to replace the ill Itzhak Perlman and perform Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1. At 16, Mintz made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
He conducted orchestras in Europe, Japan, and Israel. From 1989 to 1993, he was music adviser to the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and from 1994 to 1998 he was guest conductor of the Maastricht Symphony Orchestra. From 2002, he served as artistic director of the music festival in Sion and chair of the jury for its international violin competition.
His performances and recordings have included works by Paganini, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Debussy, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Bartók, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. He received the Chigi Academy Award in 1984 and an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba.