Simon Waley Waley (23 August 1827,

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

30 December 1875,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

) 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 identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History ...

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

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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 daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

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

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

'', 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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

''. 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 at the ...

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. He left Ireland at the age of eighteen for Brussels, where he was appointed music instructor for the el ...

, and lessons in theory and composition from

William Horsley William Horsley (18 November 177412 June 1858) was an English musician. His compositions were numerous, and include amongst other instrumental pieces three Symphony, symphonies for full orchestra. More important are his Glee (music), glees, o ...

and

Bernhard Molique Bernhard Molique (''Wilhelm Bernhard Molique;'' 7 October 180210 May 1869) was a German violinist and composer. Biography He was born in Nuremberg. His father was a musician and the boy studied various instruments, but finally devoted himself to ...

. 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, Dalston, London N1. It was founded in 1843 an ...

Family

He was the son of Solomon Waley and the younger brother of Jacob Waley. Among 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 th ...

, 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 He came from a prominent Jewish family, being the grandson of Jacob Waley and a cousin of Arthur ...

and Sir

Bernard Waley-Cohen Sir Bernard Nathaniel Waley-Cohen, 1st Baronet (29 May 1914 – 3 July 1991) was a British businessman. He was the 633rd Lord Mayor of London, elected in 1960. Biography The son of Sir Robert Waley Cohen and Alice (''née'' Beddington), Waley-C ...

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 theo ...

1827 births 1875 deaths English Jews English classical pianists 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