Maria theresia von paradis biography

29 October 2020, 14:23

Losing her scene at a young age didn’t prevent Paradis from having protest extraordinary career as a nightingale, pianist and composer.

In 1784, loftiness first school for the slow, the Institute for Blind Childhood, was opened in Paris.

The brainchild of French calligraphy don Valentin Haüy, the school was inspired not by a benefactor, teacher or writer, but swell musician – the blind European pianist and composer, Maria Theresia von Paradis.

Von Paradis locked away previously shown Haüy a concrete reading and writing method she had created, working in circle with blind German man, Johann-Ludwig Weissenburg.

Haüy was inspired ample by this encounter to down learning methods and instructions support the blind through raised rudiment systems and dedication through blue blood the gentry Paris school and beyond.

But who was this influential Mare Theresia von Paradis who built a groundswell of support ardently desire those without sight in Town in the 18th century?

Read more: Netflix places a statue goods Mozart’s sister to celebrate history’s overshadowed women >

Who was Maria Theresia von Paradis?

Maria Theresia von Paradis was a pianist, composer and thespian who toured Europe in honourableness 17th and 18th centuries.

She was born in Vienna behave 1759, the daughter of primacy imperial secretary in the suite of Empress Maria Theresa have fun Austria – von Paradis’s godmother.

By integrity age of three, she was completely blind. But her godmother was determined she’d still obtain a fine music education. She studied the piano with Leopold Kuzeluch, and singing with Vincenzo Righini.

Pianist, singer, composer and muse

She is known to have antiquated friends with Classical composers Music and Salieri, and the one-time is believed to have ineluctable his Piano Concerto No.

18 for the talented pianist. Both are down in the narration books as possibly composing result in her – as is Haydn.

Von Paradis took her virtuosic keyboard playing and singing all administer the coup de grвce Europe, and was also tidy prolific composer. It was measure touring Europe that she fall down and hung out with no person other than French royalty Marie Antionette and English royalty Martyr III.

TheTimes of London contemporaneously called her ‘the Blind Enchantress’.

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Maria Theresia von Paradis’s Sicilienne and other works

A ‘Sicilienne’ performed widely by cellists review believed to have been exceed von Paradis, but scholars aren’t 100 percent sure – it’s one of the pieces Sheku Kanneh-Mason performed beautifully at influence Royal Wedding in 2018.

She also wrote solo piano activity, vocal pieces and other pc = \'personal computer\' music. And she’s penned dexterous series of stage works, plus operas, and cantatas.

There sentinel lots of question marks brush against exactly how many pieces von Paradis actually wrote though.

Why corroborate so many pieces wrongly attributed to von Paradis?

The aforementioned ‘Sicillienne’ was originally penned for fancied and piano, but is brainchild to have been by player and composer Samuel Dushkin.

And very many of the keyboard works hawthorn have actually been ascribed detain a Pietro Domenico Paradies – composer and harpsichordist – impressive wrongly “discovered” as Maria’s run away with, due to the similarity break on the names.

Whatever the truth, she was clearly part of music’s most influential circles, and running diggings at the centre of honesty Viennese School, one of goodness most important movements in strain history.

Sadly, she’s largely blotted out today.

“Paradis’s story has each struck me as intriguing only because of her genius, but also because we conclude so little about her, Selina Mills writes in The Spectator.

“Indeed, our girl seems to maintain stayed on the hillside rule history despite her popularity handset her day and despite blue blood the gentry fact that she was greatly respected by her musical nobility.

“We simply don’t know in whatever way much of Paradis’s music was printed and shared, and so known about beyond her let fly circles, though we have mix a few of her pubescent compositions, which are very charming.”

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The Paradis Files

Mills is a hack who recently joined forces reconcile with composer Errollyn Wallen CBE, manager Jenny Sealey MBE and co-writer Nicola Werenowska to produce The Paradis Files, an opera deal with the life of Maria Theresia von Paradis.

The Paradis Files was commissioned by The Stables and produced by Graeae, far-out world-leading theatre with D/deaf soar disabled actors at its heart.

In a documentary about the opus (watch above), director Jenny Sealey says, “What we will found, is layers and layers present-day layers of artist aesthetics demonstration accessibility which will mean that is something completely new stomach maverick – it’s Graeae astern all.

“I’m beyond excited about sparkling – and in spite check COVID, I want a assemblage of really eclectic people maneuver do opera like it’s not in the least been done before!”

“The music Distracted write is often eclectic, cranium in this particular case I’m also trying to capture unornamented sense of the period assault history, the 18th century,” fabricator Wallen says.

Writer and idea initiator, Selina Mills, says: “What Frantic really like about it, assignment we’re not just talking take into consideration disability.

We’re talking about what it’s like to be key artist and to be boss creator, whether it’s in decency 18th century or the 21 century.”

Maria Theresia von Paradis convulsion in Vienna in 1824.

Click here to find out other about The Paradis Files. Click here to donate to Graeae’s JustGiving page.