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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 31 Collections and/or Records:

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Pablo Casals, 14 September 1911

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2068
Scope and Contents

Letter, 14 September 1911, Pablo Casals to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss. Weisse for her concern over the cholera epidemic in Barcelona and Catalonia. Holograph signed.

Dates: 14 September 1911
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from [ Robert V. Mendelssohn], 14 July 1907

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2307
Scope and Contents

Letter, 14 July 1907, [ Robert V. Mendelssohn] to Sophie Weisse. Description of 'the great mans' illness, inviting Tovey to visit Joachim. Holograph signed.

Dates: 14 July 1907
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 03 August 1893

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L360
Scope and Contents

Letter, 3 August 1893, Suffolk, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Details of Tovey's visit to Lowestoft. Holograph signed.

Dates: 03 August 1893
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 17 February 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L404
Scope and Contents

Letter, 17 February 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Tovey's application for the Mendelssohn scholarship an news of Tovey's contemporaries at Balliol. Holograph signed, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 17 February 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 10 February 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L406
Scope and Contents

Letter, 10 February 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss Weisse for sending gifts and praising Bray and his circle of friends. Holograph signed, in pencil, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 10 February 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 06 February 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L408
Scope and Contents

Letter, 6 February 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Informing Miss Weisse of his arrival at Balliol, and Bray's care for Tovey. Holograph signed, in pencil, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 06 February 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 24 May 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L409
Scope and Contents

Letter, 24 May 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Inviting Miss. Weisse to lunch and a concert and a description of life at Balliol. Holograph signed, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 24 May 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 11 June 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L410
Scope and Contents

Letter, 11 June 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Outlining Tovey's anxiety about his studies in classics and description of a day out with Joachim. Holograph signed, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 11 June 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 07 July 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L412
Scope and Contents

Letter, 7 July 1895, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Outlining Tovey's plans and apologising for breaking an engagement at 'The Hipkins'. Holograph signed, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 07 July 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 30 September 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L416
Scope and Contents

Letter, 30 September 1895, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of Bray's stay with the Tovey's and Tovey's anxiety over his studies. Holograph signed.

Dates: 30 September 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Filtered By

  • Subject: Social Interaction X
  • Subject: Surrey (England) X

Additional filters:

Subject
Oxford Oxfordshire England 13
Guildford (England) 7
Concert Programs 3
Instrumentation and Orchestration 3
Instruction and Study 2
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London (England) 2
Voyages and Travel 2
Composition (Music) 1
Diepholz (Germany) 1
Family 1
Ill Health 1
Lowestoft (England) 1
Music 1
Scholarships 1
Travel 1
Wokingham (England) 1
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