José Carlos Amaral Vieira
José Carlos Amaral Vieira (born 1952 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian composer, pianist, and musicologist. He has performed solo since he was eight years old and studied in Europe from 1965 to 1976. He returned to Brazil in 1977 and has since composed for several genres there. Biography. José Carlos Amaral Vieira was born in 1952 in São Paulo . He studied piano with Souza Lima and composition with Artur Hartmann in Brazil. Vieira later studied in France at the Paris Conservatory with Lucette Descaves and Olivier Messiaen; in Germany at the Freiburger Musikhochschule with Carl  Seeman and Konrad Lechner; and in the United Kingdom with Louis Kentner. In 1977 he returned to Brazil to embark on the career of a virtuoso performer, while introducing his own compositions in concert programmes. He has achieved international acclaim both as a concert and recording artist, composer, and musicologist, and has appeared throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Among his honors, Vieira has been the recipient of the Arthur Honegger International Composition Award, a Grand Prix International (Fondation de France), Hungary's Liszt Award, and Japan's Min-On Award.