A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Waley, Simon
WALEY, Simon Waley, composer and pianist, was born in London in 1827. He began music with his sister, herself a pupil of Herz and Thalberg, and became a pupil successively of Moscheles, Bennett, and G. A. Osborne for the piano, and of W. Horsley and Molique for theory and composition. He began composing very early, and wrote several elaborate PF. pieces before he was 12. His first published work, 'L'Arpeggio,' a PF. study, appeared in 1848. It was speedily followed by a number of songs and pianoforte pieces, including a concerto with orchestral accompaniment, and 2 pianoforte trios, op. 15 in B♭, and op. 20 in G minor (published by Schott & Co.), both deserving to be better known. Simon Waley was an accomplished pianist, and frequently performed at the concerts of the Amateur Musical Society, conducted by Mr. H. Leslie. His compositions abound in the plaintive melody characteristic of Mendelssohn; they exhibit great finish, and a richness of detail and harmony not unworthy of the best disciples of the Leipzig school.
Besides being an artist, he was a practical and exceptionally shrewd man of business. At the age of 17 he wrote an able series of letters to the 'Times' advocating Boulogne as the postal route between England and the Continent, and a little later he contributed some sprightly letters on a tour in the Auvergne to the 'Daily News.' He was a prominent member of the London Stock Exchange, and for many years took an active part on the committee. He died in 1875 at the early age of 48. Mr. Waley belonged to the Jewish faith, and was a leading member of that community during the critical period of its emancipation from civil disabilities. One of his finest works is a choral setting of the 117th and 118th Psalms for the Synagogue service. There was a singular charm about his person and manner. To know him was to love him; and those who had the pleasure of his acquaintance will never forget the mingled modesty and sweetness of his disposition.
His published works, besides those already mentioned, contain a large number of pieces for piano, solo and duet; 2 duets for violin and piano; songs and duets, etc., etc. The choruses for the Synagogue mentioned above are published in vol. i. of the Musical Services of the West London Synagogue. Besides the printed works some orchestral pieces remain in MS.