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José Vianna da Motta

José Vianna da Motta (São Tomé, April 22, 1868 — Lisbon, June 1, 1948) was one of the major figures of Portuguese culture and the history of music in Portugal. His work spanned several areas, the most notable were as a pianist, educator, composer, and cultural programmer.
Born in São Tomé and Príncipe, he showed early musical talent and, at the initiative of his father, traveled to Lisbon at the age of six for an audition before the royal family.
Under the patronage of the court, he completed his studies at the National Conservatory in Lisbon at the age of 14 and continued his studies in Berlin. In Germany, he became an important member of the Wagner Society, attended the Bayreuth Festival, and was one of the last pianists to receive artistic guidance from Franz Liszt. He also attended interpretation courses with Hans von Bülow. His piano career had an international path as well. As a soloist, he was one of the few pianists of his time to perform the complete Beethoven Sonatas, and in chamber music, he toured with artists such as Pablo de Sarasate.
With a vast repertoire, he extended his influence to several generations of pianists. He was a piano teacher in Berlin, Geneva, and at the National Conservatory of Lisbon, later becoming its director. Among his students were Elisa de Sousa Pedroso (founder of the Círculo de Cultura Musical), Campos Coelho (who became Maria João Pires’s teacher), composer Luiz Costa, his daughter Helena Sá e Costa (Directors of the Orpheon Portuense and also notable pianists and educators), Maria Cristina Pimentel, Maria Antoinette de Freitas Branco, Nella Maissa, composer Fernando Lopes-Graça, and pianist Sequeira Costa, considered his last disciple.
Vianna da Motta founded the Sociedade de Concertos de Lisboa in 1917 and was also the musical director of the Lisbon Symphony Orchestra from 1918 to 1920.
In the composition dimension, a profession he pursued for just over two decades starting in 1881, Vianna da Motta sought to establish a sense of “Portuguese-ness” in his music.

Grande Sonate, Op.49 | flute & piano