The Vianna da Motta International Music Competition was first constituted in 1957 in Lisbon in honor of José Vianna da Motta by his disciple Sequeira Costa, who remains its president; this inaugural edition was won by Naum Shtarkman.
The competition, a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, has been held regularly since 1964.
While mainly a piano competition, two violin editions have been held.
In 1973 Ida Kavafian and Gerardo Ribeiro shared the 1st prize.
In 1991 it was declared void; Graf Mourja and Rachel Varga were awarded, respectively, the 2nd and 3rd prizes.