Simon Waley Waley (23 August 1827,

Stockwell Stockwell is a district located in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. History The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old Englis ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

30 December 1875,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

) was one of the leading members of

Anglo-Jewry British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who are Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History The firs ...

in the 19th century. He was a leading broker on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

and a prominent amateur musician. He was a leading figure in the Jewish community during the period of the emancipation of the Jews from civil disabilities. He contributed many letters to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' under the signature W. London. His letters on ''A tour in

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

'', published in the '' Daily News'' in 1858, were incorporated into John Murray's '' Handbook for Travellers in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

''. Waley was a highly gifted musician. He began to compose as a child. His first published work, ''L'arpeggio'' (for piano), was published in 1848. He had piano lessons from

Ignaz Moscheles Isaac Ignaz Moscheles (; 23 May 179410 March 1870) was a Bohemian piano virtuoso and composer. He was based initially in London and later at Leipzig, where he joined his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as professor of piano in the Co ...

William Sterndale Bennett Sir William Sterndale Bennett (13 April 18161 February 1875) was an English composer, pianist, conductor and music educator. At the age of ten Bennett was admitted to the London Royal Academy of Music (RAM), where he remained for ten years. B ...

and

George Alexander Osborne George Alexander Osborne (24 September 1806 – 16 November 1893) was an Irish composer and pianist. Biography Osborne was born in Limerick. His father, also George, was a music teacher and organist in St Mary's cathedral. Young George joined ...

, and lessons in theory and composition from

William Horsley William Horsley (18 November 177412 June 1858) was an English composer, organist and teacher. Career In 1790, Horsley became the pupil of the pianist and composer Theodore Smith (c. 1740–1810), who taught him sufficiently well to obtain the ...

and Bernhard Molique. As well as being a brilliant pianist (he performed regularly at concerts of the Amateur Musical Society conducted by Henry Leslie), Waley was a prolific composer. His published compositions include a piano concerto (op. 16), two piano trios (in B flat and G minor, op. 15 and op. 20), marches and caprices for piano, and many songs, including "Angels' voices" and "Sing on, sing on, ye little birds". He also wrote orchestral pieces, which were not published. One of his finest works is a setting of Psalms 117 and 118 for the synagogue service. He died at home in 1875 and is buried at

Balls Pond Road Cemetery Balls Pond Road Cemetery, also known as Jewish (West London Reform) Cemetery, Kingsbury Road Cemetery, Balls Pond Burial Ground and The Jewish Burial Ground, is a Jewish cemetery on Kingsbury Road, Canonbury, London N postcode area, N1. It was ...

Family

Waley was the son of Solomon Jacob Waley, a slaveholder and co-owner of the Quintynes plantation in

Saint John, Barbados The parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint John (St. John) is a parish of Barbados on the eastern side of the island. It is home to one of its secondary schools, The Lodge School and to the St. John's Parish Church, Barbados, St. John's Parish Chur ...

. In 1829 he bought out his partner Isaac Levi and held ownership of 100 slaves. He received an award under the ''

Slave Compensation Act 1837 The Slave Compensation Act 1837 ( 1 & 2 Vict. c. 3) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, signed into law on 23 December 1837. Together with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 73), it authorized the Commissione ...

''. Waley's younger brother was

Jacob Waley Jacob Waley (17 March 1818 – 19 June 1873), was an English legal writer. Early life Waley, born in 1818, was the elder son of Solomon Jacob Waley (d. 1864) of Stockwell, and afterwards of 22 Devonshire Place, London, by his wife, Rachel Hort. H ...

, while other members of the same family were

Arthur Waley Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were ...

, Sir

Robert Waley Cohen Sir Robert Waley Cohen, KBE (8 September 1877 – 27 November 1952) was a British industrialist and prominent leader of Anglo-Jewry. Early life Robert Waley Cohen was born on 8 September 1877 to a prominent Jewish family. His father was Na ...

and Sir Bernard Waley-Cohen.

References

Sources

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Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

1827 births 1875 deaths English Jews English classical pianists English male classical pianists Jewish classical musicians People from Stockwell 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century English musicians Burials at Balls Pond Road Cemetery 19th-century British male musicians {{UK-classical-pianist-stub