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 82 Collections and/or Records:
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 20 November 1900
Letter, 20 November 1900, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of Tovey's quintet rehearsals, lecture and comments on the Leeds festival. Typescript copy.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c14 December 1900
Letter, [14 December 1900], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News from Tovey of Fra Diavolo concert attended. Holograph signed, incomplete.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c14 December 1900
Letter, [14 December 1900], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News from Tovey of Fra Diavolo concert attended. Typescript copy.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 25 January 1902
Letter, 25 January 1902, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Details of a concert and Tovey's anger with Bechstein for giving him a poor piano. Typescript copy.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1901
Letter, [1903], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Discussion of how much Tovey should charge for a performance. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 01 February 1909
Letter, 1 February 1909, Hertfordshire Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Concerning Percy Such and Hausman's relationship and a series of concerts. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1911
Letter, [January 1911], Mainz, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description and criticism of performances of Faust and Lohengrin. Holograph signed incomplete.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1911
Letter, [1911], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of the Mandyczewsiki's and Casals, development of a cello duet, and forthcoming engagements in Reading and Bayreuth. Holograph signed.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c01 February 1912
Letter, [1 February 1912], [Budapest], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of a concert in Budapest, and confusion over a Steinway and Bosenlofer piano. Holograph incomplete.
Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c01 March 1916
Letter, [March 1916], Edinburgh, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. News of a successful Reid concert, criticism of a music critic in 'The Scotsman', and news of life in Edinburgh. Holograph unfinished, on University of Edinburgh headed notepaper.
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