use the traditional pedalling in which the pedal is changed with the changing harmonies
and bass notes, as Czerny directed and as Schindler appeared to accept? Does the pianist
use an even more sparing treatment of the pedal as Bülow & Lebert recommended?
These ultimately raise matters of musical discretion which will be decided by each
individual performer.
MOTTA
Life
José Vianna da Motta was born on St Thomas Island, Portuguese East Africa, on 22 April
1868 and died in Lisbon on 1 June 1948. His family returned to Lisbon when he was a
year old and he studied with local teachers at the Lisbon Conservatory until fourteen
when, on orders from the King, he was sent to Berlin to study with Xaver Scharwenka.
In 1885 he studied with Liszt in Weimar, in 1886 with Sophie Menter in Berlin and in
1887 with Hans von Bülow in Frankfurt. From 1887 to 1902 he toured Europe, the
United States and South America with immediate success. He gave concerts as a solo
pianist, and with violinists Ysaÿe and Sarasate, and often gave duo piano recitals with
Busoni. He was court pianist in Berlin where, in 1905, he gave the first performance of
Otto Singer’s piano concerto in A, Op. 8, under the composer’s baton. He lived in Berlin
until 1915 when he became director of the Geneva Conservatory, the former post of
Bernhard Stavenhagen. In 1918 he settled in Lisbon where he became director of the
National Conservatory and conducted symphony concerts, retiring in 1938.
He was one of the foremost pianists of his time, was of great influence as a teacher, was a
fine interpreter of Bach and Beethoven, was a prolific composer, made piano
transcriptions of Alkan’s works for pedal-piano, provided a scholarly ürtext edition of
Liszt’s Sonata and a number of Liszt’s other piano works for the ‘Old Liszt Edition’, and
wrote many articles in German, French and his native tongue. His compositions include
a Ballada, a Barcarolle, a set of Portuguese scenes and a Rhapsody. His 1945 disc
recording of Liszt’s ‘Totentanz’ with the Portuguese National Symphony is probably the
last recording ever made by a Liszt pupil.
His pupils included Sequeira Costa, Alf Hurum, Sverre Jordan, Nils Larsen, Vincente
Pablo and Beryl Rubinstein. The José Vianna da Motta Music Competition was
established in 1957.
Motta made no discs but did make Liszt rolls although none is in the collection of Denis
Condon of Newtown, Sydney. His roll of the Chopin fourth Scherzo in E major opus 54
is in the collection.
Motta & Liszt
José Vianna da Motta remembers Franz Liszt: