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 95 Collections and/or Records:
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Oxford Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 01 October 1895
Letter, [1895], Oxford Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. List of works by Bach, Schumann and Brahms. Holograph.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 23 October 1890
Letter, 23 October 1890, Oxford, Hubert C. Parry to Sophie Weisse. Arranging to see Tovey. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 12 October 1892
Letter, 12 October 1892, Oxford, Hubert C. Parry to Sophie Weisse. Sympathy over Tovey's crooked spine, details of Parry's engagements, and comment on a musical fund for scholars. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 08 May 1901
Letter, 8 May 1901, Oxford, Hubert C. Parry to Sophie Weisse. Expressing pleasure at hearing news of Tovey. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from [ Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair ], 10 January 1901
Letter, 10 January 1901, Oxford, [ David Hunter Blair ] to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss. Weisse for sending a letter and information on Tovey. Holograph incomplete, author taken from annotation in red at top of letter by Miss. Weisse.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1895
Letter, 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss. Weisse for the present of some scores and notes on the scores. Photocopy of Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1895
Letter, 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Thanking Miss. Weisse for sending presents, details of a concert given by Paderewski, criticising a piano, Tovey's studying plans, and other news. Photocopy of Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 01 October 1894
Letter, 1 October 1894, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Talk of Tovey's finances, Tovey's plans for vacation work and news of Tovey's composition work. Photocopy of Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 14 October 1894
Letter, 14 October 1894, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Informing Miss. Weisse that all Tovey's furniture has arrived, requesting that Miss Weisse send Tovey's tennis racket so he can play. Photocopy of Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1897
Letter, 1897, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Explaining a misunderstanding between Miss. Weisse and Tovey's father, and suggesting that they both can play a part in developing Tovey's reading skills. Typescript copy.
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