Born in Vienna, baptized May 15, 1759
Died in Vienna, Feb 1, 1824
- In addition to composing, Paradis was a singer, a pianist, and an organist. Her compositions include piano pieces, songs, operas, and cantatas.
- Paradis was named after Empress Maria Theresa. The composer’s father was the Empress’s Court Secretary and Imperial Councilor.
- Paradis’s Oxford Music Online article notes that though it was formerly believed that she was the Empress’s goddaughter, recent scholarship indicates that this was not the case.
- Paradis’s teachers included Antonio Salieri, who instructed her in singing and dramatic composition.
- Paradis lost her sight between the ages of 2-5. She composed using a “composition board” invented by her amanuensis and librettist Johann Riedinger. She is also said to have had 60 memorized piano concertos in her repertoire.
- Paradis toured Europe multiple times as a piano virtuoso. During one tour, Mozart wrote a concerto for her (probably K 456).
- Paradis’s work in education included helping Valentin Haüy to found the first school for the blind in Paris in 1785, and founding her own school of music in 1808.1
Sources
- Rudolph Angermüller, Hidemi Matsushita, and Ron Rabin, “Paradis [Paradies], Maria Theresia,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed Aug. 5, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000020868.