 |
celebrating three hundred years of music by women |
Maria Theresia von Paradis (1759-1824)
Maria Theresia von Paradis was the daughter of Joseph Anton von Paradis, Imperial Secretary of Commerce and Court Councilor to the Empress Maria Theresa, for whom she was named.
She lost her sight between at the the age of three, from a nervous ocular disorder. She studied with Leopold Kozeluch and Antonio Salieri, and worked with Dr Messmer on her sight, with limited success. In 1783 her friend the librettist Johann Riedinger invented a composition board for her. Thanks to her good memory, she had over sixty concertos, solo and religious works committed to memory. Also that year, she set out on an extended tour to Europe; in 1784 she played 14 times in Paris, including performing Haydn's G major Concerto (XVIII:4) at the Concert spirituel. She assisted Valentin Haüy (1745-1822) establishing the first school for the blind, which opened in Paris in 1785, and was later attended by Louis Braille (1809-1852).She was mostly known as the blind pianist for whom Mozart wrote his Piano Concerto No 18 in B flat, K456, though this connection has not been confirmed. Paradis was a composer herself as well. From 1783-6 she made an extensive concert tour of Europe. Given that she was working on a peg-board, it was impressive that by 1789 she was devoting more time to composition than performance. She wrote at least five operas, various cantatas, lieder, and numerous piano works. Her compositions combine the lyrical features of the Viennese and Italian styles with the more dramatic nature of the Berlin school. In 1792 her opera Der Schulkandidat was given at the Vienna Marinellitheater. Only the Overture remains. In 1808 she founded her own music school, teaching piano, singing and theory, primarily to young girls. The school's Sunday concert series featured the work of her best students. Her place in history is due to her work for the blind and young women musicians she helped. Click on these works for more details below: Back to Contents Overture to 'Der Schulkandidat' 1792 Allegro, C major. 2fl, 2ob, 2cl, 2bn, 2tpt, timp, strings. 5 mins This was Paradis's second opera and it is currently her only surviving stage work. It is a pastoral singspiel in three acts, which was premiered in the Marinelli Theatre in Vienna on December 5 1792. The overture's orchestration favours the wind instruments and the 6/8 rhythm suggests a gigue. It makes a charmingly fresh concert opener. Published by Hildegard.com, and ClarNan Editions (C1.CN16S). Back to Contents Sicilienne for violin & piano Andantino, E flat major. 5 mins This charming little slow movement may be of dubious authenticity; some people think it's the work of its purported discoverer Samuel Dushkin. Who-ever wrote it knew how to create a very attractive lilting dance, and meanwhile Paradis gets the credit! Piano, or duet: Schott Music (see below) Back to Contents Fantaisie pour le Pianoforte, G major. c1807 Adagio - Allegro - Andante - Allegro assai - Andante grazioso - Presto. 12 mins A fantasia in the style of the Mozart piano fantasias, with several sections of different tempi, and a dramatic, improvisatory atmosphere. Back to Contents Fantaisie, C major. 1811 Moderato - Adagio - Allegro. 10 mins Arpeggiated figures produce an exploratory feel in the Moderato; next is a noble and expansive Adagio in E flat; and the Finale rollicks home in 6/8. Maria Theresa von Paradis, Charles Burney, in the Gentlemen's Magazine, 1785. Female Agency in the Early Nineteenth-Century Viennese Musical Salon, Opera in the Viennes home from Mozart to Rossini Cambridge University Press. Memoires of Doctor Burney, Cambridge University Press, 2010. Maria Theresia von Paradis, Eric A Dorwart, 2016. Paradis collection at the Austrian national library, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, 84 items. The musical career and compositions of Maria Theresia von Paradis, Matsushita Hidemi, 1999, Austrian national Library. Zwölf Lieder: auf ihrer Reise in Musik gesetzt, German digital library. The famous Sicilliene, Schott. This is her most recorded work. Various works on ClarNan reprints. They have ClarNan Editions of Zwolf Lieder aufihre Reise in Musik gesetzt (1784-86) including some of her songs. There are 5 compositions on her page IMSLP.
|