Composed 1792; Duration: 6 minutes

First performance of this work by the BPO.

Joseph Anton von Paradis worked as the Imperial Secretary of Commerce for the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, for whom he named his daughter. The younger Maria Theresia lost her eyesight as a child, but developed a fondness for music, making a career as a pianist and premiering concertos by her dear friends Salieri, Haydn, and Mozart (No. 18, K. 456). 

In the 1790s, she transitioned her focus to composition and created three cantatas, five operas, and many works for keyboard. Most of these works are lost, including all of her operas, save for the overture of her 1792 Der Schulkandidat (The School Candidate).