Composition

Notes

Franz Anton Mesmer (1734 – 1815) was a German physician who theorized that medical issues were due to problems with a patient’s “magnetic flow.” His hands-on treatments and hypnosis were controversial, particularly with female patients. His colorful life included acquaintances with Mozart, Benjamin Franklin, and royalty in Paris and Vienna. Although he was several times run out of town as a charlatan, some stood by his methods, including the blind pianist and composer Maria Theresia Paradis, who seemed to have been temporarily cured of her blindness by Mesmer. His legacy includes the term “mesmerizing,” a spellbound state of focus and belief.