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 155 Collections and/or Records:
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 04 October 1897
Letter, 4 October 1897, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss. Weisse and outlining plans for his concerto and reading. Typescript copy.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1897
Letter, [1897], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Describing a meeting with a relative, Mary, and Tovey's advice to her concerning her singing career . Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 14 May 1898
Letter, 14 May 1898, Littlehampton, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of Tovey's progress at Oxford and details of a bad copy of a quintet by Tovey. Typescript copy of L495.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 14 May 1898
Letter, 14 May 1898, Littlehampton, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of Tovey's progress at Oxford and details of a bad copy of a quintet by Tovey. Holograph incomplete.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 01 October 1898
Letter, 1 October 1898, Biggar, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of Tovey's piano practise especially method of practise. Holograph signed, with annotations in blue ink on first page by Sophie Weisse.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 01 October 1898
Letter, 1 October 1898, Biggar, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of Tovey's piano practise especially method of practise. Typescript copy of L510.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 09 November 1898
Letter, 9 November 1898, Biggar, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Criticism of musical magazines and extracts. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 09 November 1898
Letter, 9 November 1898, Biggar, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Criticism of musical magazines and extracts. Typescript copy incomplete.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 20 November 1898
Letter, 20 November 1898, Cambridge, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Informing Miss. Weisse that Tovey will go to the Brahms concert, explaining his circumstances and requesting that Miss. Weisse send Tovey his compositions. Holograph signed, with annotation in red ink by Sophie Weisse.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 20 November 1898
Letter, [20 November 1898], Cambridge, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Informing Miss. Weisse that Tovey will go to the Brahms concert, explaining his circumstances and requesting that Miss. Weisse send Tovey his compositions. Typescript copy of 520.
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