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 692 Collections and/or Records:

Letter to Sophie Weisse from [M. R. L], c1900

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2755

Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Johannesburg, [M. R. L] to Sophie Weisse. Suggesting that a teacher at Northlands take up a position in Johanesberg to help set up a school and to teach maths. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1900

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Margaret Warre Cornish, c1920

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2093

Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Margaret Cornish to Sophie Weisse. Asking how Miss. Weisse is and news of the Warre Cornish family. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1920

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Marie, 18 January 1900

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2751

Scope and Contents

Letter, 18 January 1900, Marie to Sophie Weisse. Holograph signed.

Dates: 18 January 1900

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Mary Beasley, c1940

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2031

Scope and Contents

Letter, [n.d], Northampton, Mary Beasley to Sophie Weisse. Discussion of a photograph of Tovey. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1940

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Mary Beasley, 15 July 1940

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2032

Scope and Contents

Letter, 15 July 1940, Northampton, Mary Beasley to Sophie Weisse. Praising Tovey and discussing the preservation of his memory. Holograph signed.

Dates: 15 July 1940

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Mary Beasley, 14 October 1940

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2033

Scope and Contents

Letter, 14 October 1940, Northampton, Mary Beasley to Sophie Weisse. Discussing a photograph of Tovey and suggesting that Beasley might visit Edinburgh. Holograph signed.

Dates: 14 October 1940

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Mary Beasley, 27 October 1940

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2034

Scope and Contents

Letter, 27 October 1940, Northampton, Mary Beasley to Sophie Weisse. Answering Miss. Weisse's questions concerning chronological sequence of events. Holograph signed.

Dates: 27 October 1940

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Mary Beasley, 06 July 1941

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2035

Scope and Contents

Letter, 6 July 1941, Northampton, Mary Beasley to Sophie Weisse. Discussing Tovey's life especially the young Tovey. Holograph signed.

Dates: 06 July 1941

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Mary Beasley, 29 July 1941

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2036

Scope and Contents

Letter, 29 July 1941, Northampton, Mary Beasley to Sophie Weisse. Discussing Miss. Weisse's memorial to Tovey at Edinburgh University, praising Miss. Weisse's sense of style, discussion of enclosed photographs of Tovey. Holograph signed.

Dates: 29 July 1941

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Mary Elizabeth Ponsonby, 10 May 1901

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L2403

Scope and Contents

Letter, 10 May 1901, Ascot, Mary Ponsonby to Sophie Weisse. Informing Miss. Weisse how thoroughly Ponsonby enjoyed Tovey's concert of the Bach variations and asking Miss. Weisse a question about a sewage pipe. Holograph signed.

Dates: 10 May 1901

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Tovey Collection / Papers of Donald Francis Tovey / Correspondence

Weisse, Sophie, 1852-1945 (Scottish music teacher)

Dates

Biography

Found in 692 Collections and/or Records:

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