At the age of thirteen José Vianna da Motta composed the O Dia 20 de Maio, Quadrilha de Valsas op. 44, in B flat major, which is classed with his childhood works written between 1873 and 1883. Although Vianna da Motta composed waltzes all his life, this musical genre was never really considered as a part of the identity of his piano work.
Among the childhood piano waltzes we can identify some common pianistic traits that reflect the technical research to which Vianna da Motta was dedicated and the musical trends that were influencing him. For example, the hemiolas on the themes of waltzes op. 14, As Férias, op. 16, Amor Filial, op. 19, Volúvel and op. 44, O Dia 20 de Maio (see subsections a1, a1' and c1' of the structural analysis below). Beyond that, the harmonic progression of type I-♭VI present between waltzes N.º 2 and N.º 3 is perhaps the most characteristic element of Vianna da Motta's childhood works. There are several examples in works such as Amor Filial: Waltz op. 16; Purificação: Polka op. 18; Volúvel: Waltz op. 19; Victória!!: March op. 23; A Infância: Polka op. 24; O Acrobata: Fantasy op. 25; Polaca, op. 37; Meditação, op. 51 no. 1.
1
27
43
59
67
73
81
97
113
129
145
153
161
177
193
209
223
N.º 1
N.º 2
N.º 3
A1
A2
bridge
B1
B2
C1
C2
i
a1
a1'
a2
a2'
p
b1
b1'
b2
b2'
c1
c1'
(a1')
c2
c2'
t
(F) > B♭
B♭
F
E♭
B
227
243
259
267
273
277
293
309
326
341
N.º 4
N.º 5
D1
D2
E1
E2
d1
d1'
d2
d2'
e1
e1'
e2 x2
(a2)
E
A
357
383
399
415
423
429
437
453
467
475
481
507
523
537
551
Coda
A2'
C1'
i'
p'
c1''
e2'
(a1')'
(a/F) > B♭
João Costa Ferreira