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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 692 Collections and/or Records:

Letter to F. W. Kelly from Sophie Weisse, c1930

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2636
Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Sophie Weisse to F. W. Kelly. Arranging to perform a Brahms work and suggesting that Kelly should compose a work for Tovey. Holograph incomplete.

Dates: c1930

Letter to F.W. Kelly from Sophie Weisse, c1930

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2622
Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Surrey, Sophie Weisse to F. W Kelly. Advising Kelly not to strain his hands when practising. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1930

Letter to Hubert James Foss from Margaret Maitland, 27 November 1941

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2296
Scope and Contents

Letter, 27 November 1941, Oxford, Margaret Maitland to Hubert Foss. Informing Foss of Maitland's relationship to Tovey and reminiscences of Tovey and Maitland's youth. Holograph signed.

Dates: 27 November 1941

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 Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, 01 October 1941

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2575
Scope and Contents

Letter, 8 September 1941, Edinburgh, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Correcting a point in Foss's article on Tovey, concerning Bosendorfer piano's. Holograph signed.

Dates: 01 October 1941

Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1940

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2577
Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Surrey, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Informing Foss that Miss. Weisse will attempt to work on his dissertation, but explaining that Miss. Weisse is quite helpless now. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1940

Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1941

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2578
Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Surrey, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Inviting Foss to visit Weisse, and expressing a desire to go to Worplesdon and visit Tovey's grave. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1941

Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1942

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2579
Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Sending Foss a picture of Tovey, and describing Tovey's death as a tragedy. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1942

Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1941

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2580
Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Edinburgh, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Enclosing photographs of the Tovey Memorial rooms, expressing Weisse's grief. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1941

Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1941

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2581
Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Surrey, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Informing Foss that Weisse is disabled due to a scalded foot, and inviting Foss for lunch. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1941

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 691
Collection 1
 
Subject
Social Interaction 366
London (England) 96
Oxford Oxfordshire England 95
Performances 82
Composition (Music) 71
∨ more
Instruction and Study 67
Surrey (England) 60
Concert Programs 55
Voyages and Travel 52
Ill Health 50
Englefield Green (England) 48
Guildford (England) 40
Edinburgh -- Scotland 38
Performance practice (Music) 32
Musical Criticism 22
Professional Interaction 22
Music Theory 21
Family 20
Music 20
Hartree 18
Instrumentation and Orchestration 18
Eton (England) 12
Opera | The Bride of Dionysus 12
Condolence Notes 11
Woking (England) 11
Music Publishing 10
Scholarships 10
Worplesdon (England) 10
Cambridge (England) 9
Professional Recognition 9
Bad Nauheim (Germany) 8
Biggar (Scotland) 8
Biography 8
Haslemere 8
Academic Writing 7
Berlin (Germany) 7
Examinations 7
Travel 7
Dorking (England) 6
England -- Northamptonshire -- Weston 6
Lippe (Germany) 6
Wokingham (England) 6
Littlehampton (England) 5
Lowestoft (England) 5
Manuscript Preparation (Authorship) 5
Memorials 5
Societies and Clubs 5
Universities and Colleges, Administration 5
Windsor (Berkshire, England) 5
Advertising 4
Arran Buteshire Scotland 4
Book Reviews 4
Bungay (England) 4
England -- Surrey -- Holmbury St Mary 4
Germany -- Mainz 4
Meiningen (Germany) 4
Music History and criticism 4
Piano 4
Shenley (England) 4
Translations 4
Administration 3
Agent, Musical 3
Careers Advice 3
Chamber Orchestra 3
Executors and Administrators 3
Fairfield 3
Fees, Professional 3
Opera 3
Paris (France) 3
Poetry 3
Salzburg (Austria) 3
Wixenford 3
Amsterdam (Netherlands) 2
Bonn (Germany) 2
Canstatt 2
Chislehurst (England) 2
Finance, Personal 2
Job Offers 2
Libraries 2
Libraries--Gifts, legacies 2
Liverpool Merseyside England 2
Manchester (England) 2
Marlow (Buckinghamshire, England) 2
Moffat (Scotland) 2
Music patronage 2
Music | 20th century 2
Musicians 2
New York City (New York, United States) 2
Oban Kilmore and Kilbride (parish) Argyllshire Scotland 2
Proofreading 2
Publications 2
Spain 2
Stuttgart (Germany) 2
Trumpington (England) 2
World War, 1939-1945 2
Aachen (Germany) 1
Accounts 1
Andover (Massachusetts) 1
Appointment to Office 1
Bern Switzerland 1
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