The starting point of our reflection is the “intellectuality” of the piano playing of the Portuguese pianist and composer José Vianna da Motta, often highlighted by critics and biographers. In order to measure the so-called “intellectuality”, we conceived a system for quantifying the processes necessary for piano playing. Based on this system, this article proposes a reflection and an analysis of the relative complexity of piano solutions for musical passages from Vianna da Motta’s works and editions.