PIANIST AND COMPOSER AUSTRIAMademoiselle Paradis is one artist whom our nation is not able to praise too highly. . . . This gifted keyboard player is truly astonishing. . . . More faultless, more precise, more polished playing is not known.
—MERCURE DE FRANCE NEWSPAPER
Maria Theresia ran her tiny fingers across the keys. She could see nothing, but she could feel their cool, smooth, comforting ivory. When she pressed down on one, out came the most clear and lovely sound. She was entranced. Although she was so young and small that she could barely reach the piano keys, Maria Theresia was drawn to the instrument.
Soon, this young girl would astound audiences around the world and become one of the first famous woman musicians to perform in public. As a blind pianist who played, sang, composed, and taught, Maria Theresia blazed new paths not only for women but for blind people as well.
Maria Theresia von Paradis was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1759. Her father was the royal court secretary of Empress Maria Theresa, and he named his daughter after her. When she was three years old, Maria Theresia lost her sight. Some believe that her blindness occurred because of an illness, while others claim she was blinded in an accident. As a child, Maria Theresia showed an outstanding talent for music. Unable to read music with her eyes, she had to learn and memorize everything by ear.
She was so gifted that the empress paid for her musical and general education, and Maria Theresia was able to study music with the best teachers available. When she was eleven, she gave her first public performance, singing and playing the organ. By the time she was sixteen, Maria Theresia was recognized as a piano virtuoso and an accomplished singer.
In 1783 Maria Theresia embarked on a three-year concert tour of Europe. She was highly praised wherever she went, but perhaps her most important stop was Paris. Not only did Maria Theresia play fourteen performances there, but she also met Valentin Haüy, who was planning to open the first school for the blind in Europe. Maria Theresia passionately wanted to give other blind people a chance to develop their talents in a time when people with disabilities were often shunned by society. She described to Haüy how she had been taught math, reading, and music. He was then able to use these methods to teach the blind students in his new school.
Maria Theresia was such an amazing pianist that she inspired other great musicians—famous composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Joseph Haydn both wrote piano concertos for her, and Antonio Salieri composed an organ concerto for her.
During her tour, Maria Theresia started composing her own music. She developed a method to set down her compositions by using a peg board. Someone could then transcribe her work onto paper. The gifted musician composed at least five operas and three cantatas (compositions for voices and instruments) as well as many other shorter pieces.
One of Maria Theresia’s most amazing gifts was her memory. She could play at least 60 piano concertos from memory and could remember all her own compositions, note by note.
In 1808 Maria Theresia started her own music school in Vienna; she wanted to give girls the chance for a good musical education, something that was usually reserved for boys only. Her school taught piano, singing, and music theory to both blind and sighted students. Maria Theresia’s school proved to be a huge success, and she continued teaching until her death in 1824. Maria Theresia worked hard to overcome not only her blindness but also the prejudice against women and people with disabilities. During her lifetime she showed the world that there are no limitations to what one girl can achieve.
AGE 13