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Weisse, Sophie, 1852-1945 (Scottish music teacher)

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1852 - 1945

Biography

Sophie Weisse was born in Edinburgh in 1852 to a German father and Lithuanian mother. Little is known of her early life and education. In 1892, she founded the all-girls school of Northlands in Surrey, which she ran for twenty-five years. Although Northlands was a school of general education, music was given a particularly prominent place in the curriculum, and musical celebrities were often invited to visit and perform. Weisse employed the young Donald Tovey as a pianist at the school’s concerts, which provided a launch for his career as a musician and composer. Weisse had discovered Tovey’s talent at the age of four and had managed all aspects of his education. She further supported his career by funding the publication of his works between 1903 and 1913. Weisse and Tovey maintained a lifelong relationship. When Tovey was appointed to Edinburgh University’s Reid Chair of Music in 1914, Weisse followed him to Edinburgh. As Reid Professor, Tovey bestowed on Weisse an honorary degree of Doctor of Music in 1936. Weisse died in Guildford in 1945.

Weisse was a major benefactor of the University of Edinburgh. On Tovey’s death in 1941, she gifted 18 Buccleuch Place to the University as 'The Tovey Memorial Rooms', with the intention that it be used for student study. She also gifted the University portraits of Tovey and herself by Philip de Laszlo and endowed the Tovey Memorial Prize as an annual award for the most promising undergraduate composer or performer in the Faculty of Music. Her collection of around 600 books and scores relating to Beethoven was purchased by the University in 1948.

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, 01 October 1941

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2574
Scope and Contents

Letter, 1 October 1941, Edinburgh, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Commenting on an article written by Foss on Tovey, and reminiscing. Holograph signed.

Dates: 01 October 1941

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 03 July 1897

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L459
Scope and Contents

Letter, 3 July 1897, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of Tovey's ' book' and his progress, expressing concern over Miss. Weisse. Holograph, with duplicate typescript copy, 26 x 21cm.

Dates: 03 July 1897

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 23 October 1897

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L476
Scope and Contents

Letter, 23 October 1897, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss. Weisse for a letter, Tovey's completion of a book and news of his contemporaries at Balliol. Holograph signed.

Dates: 23 October 1897

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  • Subject: Academic Writing X
  • Subject: Social Interaction X

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Subject
Edinburgh -- Scotland 1
Guildford (England) 1
Oxford Oxfordshire England 1