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 96 Collections and/or Records:
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 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, 01 August 1897
Letter, 3 August 1897, Maintz, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of journey to Bayreuth via the Rhine. Typescript copy.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1899
Letter, [1899], London, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of study at the British Library, piano fingering technique and programme notes. Holograph signed, with annotations in pencil on first leaf.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1899
Letter, [1899], London, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. A description of Joachim's evaluation of Tovey's compositions. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 12 January 1904
Letter, 12 January 1904, London, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of Tovey's time in Germany, his awe of Joachim and his forthcoming schedule. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 01 August 1922
Letter, 1 August 1922, London, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Requesting that Miss. Weisse send Tovey a couple of dress shirts, news of his host Sir William McCormick. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Hubert Charles Parry, 14 May 1897
Letter, 14 May 1897, London, Hubert Charles Parry to Sophie Weisse. Expressing pleasure at hearing News of Tovey's development. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Thomas Spring-Rice, 28 October 1907
Letter, 28 October 1907, London, T. A. Spring Rice to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss. Weisse for her hospitality, requesting that Tovey give a lesson to a friend of Spring Rice and news of Spring Rice's engagements. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Unknown, c 26 March 1900
Letter, 26 March [n.y], London, Unknown to Sophie Weisse. Enclosing a fee for a concert performance by Tovey of his own work, and praising the music. Holograph incomplete.
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