Weisse, Sophie, 1852-1945 (Scottish music teacher)
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 82 Collections and/or Records:
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 20 January 1893
Letter, 20 January 1893, London, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Explaining that Tovey has been too busy to send a card to Miss. Weisse and description of a performance. Photocopy of a typescript copy.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 12 January 1891
Letter, 12 January 1891, London, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Details of a performance of The Messiah at the Albert Hall, and details of Tovey's social life. Photocopy of holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 12 October 1889
Letter, 12 October 1889, Cambridge, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of a visit to Leeds and a concert attended there. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 25 October 1889
Letter, 25 October 1889, Windsor, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Details of a visit to Leeds with a Mr. and Mrs. Newall and of the concerts they saw there. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 12 January 1891
Letter, 12 January 1891, London Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of a concert at The Royal Albert Hall, and a ` drawing room performance' Tovey gave.. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 18 October 1893
Letter, 18 October 1893, Berkshire, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of a rehearsal of works by Beethoven and Brahms by Tovey and a Mrs. Liddell. Holograph signed, with annotation in red ink by Sophie Weisse.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 18 October 1893
Letter, 18 October 1893, Berkshire, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of a rehearsal of works by Beethoven and Brahms by Tovey and a Mrs. Liddell. Typescript copy.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1895
Letter, [1895], Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Criticism of a concert Tovey attended, description of a concert Tovey gave and description of Tovey's Oxford contemporaries. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 04 March 1895
Letter, 4 March 1894, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Expressing anxiety over the Amsterdam choir. Holograph signed, with envelope.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 04 March 1895
Letter, 4 March 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Apologising for pulling out of a performance. Holograph signed, with envelope.
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