José Vianna da Motta

José Vianna da Motta was born on São Tomé Island, a Portuguese territory at the time where his father, also a great amateur musician, had opened a pharmacy.

Moving with his family to Continental Portugal, he settled in Colares, near Sintra, where he soon showed his unusual skills in music, and in playing and composing works for the piano.

He returned several times to South America, having been applauded in his recitals in Buenos Aires, one of the cities where he performed more often in public.

[1] Although he was renowned for his virtuosity he was also dedicated to the music of J. S. Bach and Beethoven - playing all of the latter's 32 piano sonatas in a series of concerts in Lisbon in 1927.

He also included lesser known composers in his recitals, playing, for example, works by Charles-Valentin Alkan at the Wigmore Hall in London in 1903.