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 691 Collections and/or Records:
Letter to F. W. Kelly from Sophie Weisse, c1930
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.
Letter to F.W. Kelly from Sophie Weisse, c1930
Letter, [n.d], Surrey, Sophie Weisse to F. W Kelly. Advising Kelly not to strain his hands when practising. Holograph signed.
Letter to Hubert James Foss from Margaret Maitland, 27 November 1941
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.
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, 01 October 1941
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.
Letter to Hubert James Foss from Sophie Weisse, c1940
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.
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], Edinburgh, Sophie Weisse to Hubert Foss. Enclosing photographs of the Tovey Memorial rooms, expressing Weisse's grief. 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.
Filtered By
- Type: Archival Object X
Additional filters:
- Subject
- Social Interaction 366
- London (England) 96
- Oxford Oxfordshire England 95
- Performances 82
- Composition (Music) 71
- 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
- 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
- Bombing, Aerial 1
- Book donations 1 + ∧ less