He was married to Guiomar Novaes, a major figure among twentieth-century Brazilian pianists.

Pinto was not a professional musician, but rather an architect who carried out business across Brazil.

In his youth, however, he took lessons with the famous Hungarian-French pianist Isidor Philipp, who taught Guiomar Novaes while she studied at the Paris Conservatoire, and wrote several pieces for solo piano until his death in 1950.

Pinto was well known in Latin American music circles even before marrying Novaes.

He was also a close friend of Heitor Villa-Lobos, the best-known composer of Brazilian classical music of the twentieth century.