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 366 Collections and/or Records:
Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, 01 October 1941
Letter, 1 October 1941, Edinburgh, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Commenting on an article written by Foss on Tovey, and reminiscing. Holograph signed.
Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1941
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.
Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1942
Letter, [n.d], Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Sending Foss a picture of Tovey, and describing Tovey's death as a tragedy. Holograph signed.
Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1941
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.
Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c 01 August 1941
Letter, August [n.y], Edinburgh, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Informing Foss that Tovey was a remarkable astronomer, and suggesting he died because of loss of feeling in his fingertips. Holograph signed.
Letter to Hubert JJames Foss from Sophie Weisse, 01 September 1941
Letter, 1 September 1941, Edinburgh, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Commenting that Tovey did buy himself a big Bosendorfer piano before he died, and commenting on the tragedy of his life. Holograph signed.
Letter to Mary Tovey from Sophie Weisse, 18 June 1898
Letter, 18 June 1898, Surrey, Sophie Weisse to Mary Tovey. News of Tovey, suggesting he would have got a better class of degree had he worked harder. Holograph signed.
Letter to Mollie Macarthy from Sophie Weisse, c1920
Letter, [n.d], Sophie Weisse to Mollie Macarthy. Informing Molly Macarthy of Miss. Weisse's memories of being at school with Robert Louis Stevenson and suggesting that her father, Mr. Weisse suggested that Stevenson should pursue a career in literature. Typescript copy.
Letter to Mrs. Jekyll from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1900
Letter, [n.d], Surrey, Donald Tovey to Mrs. Jekyll. Accepting an invitation on 23rd July. Typescript copy.
Letter to Robert Calverley Trevelyan from Hubert James Foss, 12 January 1944
Letter, 12 January 1944, London, Hubert Foss to Robert Trevelyan. Informing Trevelyan that Foss has received a proof for an article in 'Music and letters', and news of Miss. Weisse and her state of health. Holograph signed.
Additional filters:
- Subject
- Oxford Oxfordshire England 56
- London (England) 49
- Surrey (England) 31
- Guildford (England) 25
- Instruction and Study 25
- Performances 24
- Concert Programs 22
- Composition (Music) 21
- Englefield Green (England) 21
- Edinburgh -- Scotland 20
- Ill Health 18
- Family 16
- Voyages and Travel 16
- Hartree 12
- Instrumentation and Orchestration 11
- Music 8
- Performance practice (Music) 8
- Cambridge (England) 7
- Eton (England) 7
- Travel 6
- Woking (England) 6
- Worplesdon (England) 6
- Biggar (Scotland) 5
- Condolence Notes 5
- Lowestoft (England) 5
- Biography 4
- Littlehampton (England) 4
- Music Theory 4
- Musical Criticism 4
- Professional Recognition 4
- Scholarships 4
- Shenley (England) 4
- Societies and Clubs 4
- Windsor (Berkshire, England) 4
- Academic Writing 3
- Arran Buteshire Scotland 3
- Bad Nauheim (Germany) 3
- Berlin (Germany) 3
- Book Reviews 3
- Bungay (England) 3
- Dorking (England) 3
- England -- Northamptonshire -- Weston 3
- England -- Surrey -- Holmbury St Mary 3
- Fairfield 3
- Lippe (Germany) 3
- Meiningen (Germany) 3
- Careers Advice 2
- Haslemere 2
- Memorials 2
- Moffat (Scotland) 2
- Opera | The Bride of Dionysus 2
- Paris (France) 2
- Trumpington (England) 2
- Aachen (Germany) 1
- Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1
- Andover (Massachusetts) 1
- Appointment to Office 1
- Book donations 1
- Bristol (England) 1
- Canstatt 1
- Chamber Orchestra 1
- Charlottenburg (Berlin, Germany) 1
- Chester (England) 1
- Chislehurst (England) 1
- Conducting 1
- Degrees, Academic 1
- Diepholz (Germany) 1
- Du¨sseldorf (Germany) 1
- England -- Berkshire -- Ascot 1
- England -- East Sussex -- Eastbourne 1
- England -- North Yorkshire -- Stonegrave 1
- England -- Surrey -- Egham 1
- England -- Warwickshire -- Rugby 1
- England -- West Sussex -- Rustington 1
- Family History 1
- Finance, Personal 1
- Gifts 1
- Gloucester (England) 1
- Job Offers 1
- Lamps 1
- Libraries 1
- Manchester (England) 1
- Manuscript Preparation (Authorship) 1
- Music festivals 1
- Music patronage 1
- Musical pitch 1
- Oban Kilmore and Kilbride (parish) Argyllshire Scotland 1
- Paisley (Scotland) 1
- Piano 1
- Poetry 1
- Proofreading 1
- Publications 1
- Royalty 1
- Scotland -- Argyllshire -- parish -- Kilninian and Kilmore -- Isle of Mull -- Tobermory 1
- Scotland -- East Lothian -- Longniddry 1
- Scotland -- Inverness-shire -- Isle of Skye -- Portree 1
- Stuttgart (Germany) 1
- Switzerland 1
- Universities and Colleges, Administration 1 + ∧ less