The Blind Pianist Who Inspired Mozart

Maria Theresia von Paradis was born in Vienna in May 1759. Her father was an imperial secretary in the court of Empress Maria Theresa, for whom she was named.

By the time she was 5 years old, Paradis was completely blind. Yet, she exhibited extraordinary musical talent, which was nurtured by the Empress with lessons from the city’s best teachers. Paradis learned to play piano, organ, and sang. She studied with Antonio Salieri, one of the most prominent composers in Vienna at the time who wrote her an organ concerto. Franz Joseph Haydn also wrote her a piano concerto.

In 1783, Paradis embarked on an ambitious tour of Europe. Accompanied by her mother and librettist Johann Riedinger, she created a sensation in Berlin, Paris, London, Switzerland, and Prague. She met Queen Marie Antoinette of France, as well as King George III of England and the Prince of Wales. It was during this tour that she is thought to have premiered Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18, now nicknamed in her honor. That same year, she helped establish the first school for the blind in Paris, inspiring Valentin Haüy to found the National Institution for Young Blind People.

During her European tour, Paradis also began composing more music. Riedinger devised a pegboard with differently shaped pegs that allowed her to inscribe notes. Though much of her output has been lost, she wrote several piano sonatas, cantatas, operas, and many songs using this method.

Eventually, Paradis turned her attention away from performing and composition and to teaching. In 1808, Paradis established a music school in Vienna for girls, where she taught singing, piano, and music theory until her death, in 1824.