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 Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 20 October 1895

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L421

Scope and Contents

Letter, 20 October 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Details of life at Balliol and a description of his contemporaries. Holograph signed.

Dates: 20 October 1895

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 23 October 1895

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L423

Scope and Contents

Letter, 23 October 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Recommending a music text book, apologising for neglecting Miss Weisse and description of a performance by Borwick. Holograph signed, with envelope.

Dates: 23 October 1895

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 10 November 1895

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L424

Scope and Contents

Letter, 10 November 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Tovey describing concerts he has performed in and explaining his feelings of inadequacy compared to other Balliol scholars. Holograph signed.

Dates: 10 November 1895

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 20 October 1895

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L425

Scope and Contents

Letter, 22 October 1895, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Description of a pianoforte quintet Tovey is composing. Holograph, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 20 October 1895

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 21 December 1893

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L428

Scope and Contents

Letter, 21 December 1893, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Request for musical scores. Holograph signed, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 21 December 1893

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 27 December 1895

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L429

Scope and Contents

Letter, 27 December 1895, Surrey, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Apologising for not writing, details of a quintet Tovey is composing. Holograph signed, with stamped envelope.

Dates: 27 December 1895

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, 12 February 1896

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L432

Scope and Contents

Letter, 12 February 1896, Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Discussion of musical scoring, details of a concert. Holograph signed, incomplete.

Dates: 12 February 1896

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

letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1895

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L434

Scope and Contents

letter, [1895], Oxford, Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Details of life at Balliol college, Oxford. Holograph signed.

Dates: c1895

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1893

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L435

Scope and Contents

Letter, [January 1893], [Surrey], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Expressing concern over being offered ten pounds as payment for performing to friends, and notes on Tovey's cat Jeannie. Holograph signed, incomplete, with annotation in red ink by Sophie Weisse.

Dates: c1893

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

Letter to Sophie Weisse from Sir Donald Francis Tovey, c1892

Item

Identifier: Coll-411/1/1/L436

Scope and Contents

Letter, [1892], Donald Tovey to Sophie Weisse. Describing a lesson from Parry and a trip to The British museum. Holograph incomplete.

Dates: c1892

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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