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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 155 Collections and/or Records:

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 12 May 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L374
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 12 May 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. List of performance times of various pieces. Holograph signed.

Dates: 12 May 1895

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 21 March 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L383
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 21 March 1895, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. List of scores Tovey requires. Holograph signed.

Dates: 21 March 1895

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 22 February 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L400
Scope and Contents

Postcard, [22 February 1895], Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Informing Miss Weisse of the development of a composition. Holograph signed.

Dates: 22 February 1895

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 31 January 1896

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L431
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 31 January 1896, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of the Tovey family, and Tovey composing music for his brothers play. Holograph signed.

Dates: 31 January 1896

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 03 April 1897

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L453
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 3 April 1897, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Note of Tovey's work on ' Music and it's means of expression '. Typescript copy of postcard.

Dates: 03 April 1897

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 01 August 1897

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L467
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 1 August 1897, Bayreuth, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of concerts Tovey has attended in Bayreuth, discussion of Wagner's music. Holograph signed, with duplicate typescript copy, 26 x 20cm.

Dates: 01 August 1897

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 22 August 1905

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L581
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 22 August 1905, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Notes on Beethoven trio programme. Holograph signed.

Dates: 22 August 1905

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 29 August 1905

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L584
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 29 August 1905, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Tovey's piano practice and his building up a repertoire. Holograph signed.

Dates: 29 August 1905

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 04 September 1905

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L587
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 4 September 1905, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Describing the development of a quintet in F major. Holograph signed.

Dates: 04 September 1905

Postcard to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 06 September 1905

 Item
Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L588
Scope and Contents

Postcard, 6 September 1905, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Notes on Tovey's studies of Chopin, Brahms and Beethoven and his busy schedule. Holograph signed.

Dates: 06 September 1905

Filtered By

  • Subject: Music X

Additional filters:

Type
Archival Object 154
Collection 1
 
Subject
Composition (Music) 71
Social Interaction 43
Performance practice (Music) 32
London (England) 24
Instruction and Study 21
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Music Theory 21
Music 20
Guildford (England) 16
Oxford Oxfordshire England 16
Surrey (England) 16
Musical Criticism 13
Music Publishing 10
Performances 10
Instrumentation and Orchestration 9
Voyages and Travel 8
Englefield Green (England) 7
Eton (England) 7
Edinburgh -- Scotland 5
Hartree 5
Concert Programs 4
Family 4
Music History and criticism 4
Opera | The Bride of Dionysus 4
Academic Writing 3
Haslemere 3
Lippe (Germany) 3
Professional Interaction 3
Worplesdon (England) 3
Arran Buteshire Scotland 2
Bad Nauheim (Germany) 2
Berlin (Germany) 2
Biggar (Scotland) 2
Book Reviews 2
Cambridge (England) 2
England -- Surrey -- Holmbury St Mary 2
Ill Health 2
Littlehampton (England) 2
Manuscript Preparation (Authorship) 2
Music patronage 2
Music | 20th century 2
Musicians 2
Oban Kilmore and Kilbride (parish) Argyllshire Scotland 2
Paris (France) 2
Windsor (Berkshire, England) 2
Wokingham (England) 2
Aachen (Germany) 1
Biography 1
Chamber Orchestra 1
Choral Music 1
Composers 1
Copyright -- Royalties 1
Correspondence 1
Dorking (England) 1
Du¨sseldorf (Germany) 1
Examinations 1
Finance, Personal 1
Gifts 1
Horsham (West Sussex, England) 1
Liverpool Merseyside England 1
Marlow (Buckinghamshire, England) 1
Moffat (Scotland) 1
Music festivals 1
Music | 19th century | 1
Piano 1
Poetry 1
Professional Recognition 1
Publications 1
Santa Barbara (California, United States) 1
Scotland -- Argyllshire -- Morvern 1
Scotland -- Inverness-shire -- Isle of Skye -- Portree 1
Shenley (England) 1
Singing--Instruction and study 1
Translations 1
Wixenford 1
women musicians 1
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