Charles Kensington Salaman

Charles Kensington Salaman (3 March 1814 – 23 June 1901) was a British Jewish composer, pianist, and writer. He was the composer of more than one hundred settings of Hebrew texts for the West London Synagogue, as well as numerous songs in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin, and Greek. Biography Early life Charles Salaman was born in 1814 at 11 Charing Cross, London, the eldest son and one of the fourteen children of Alice () and Simeon Kensington Salaman. He was the brother of Rachel, Rose Emma, Annette, and Julia Salaman. Salaman showed musical talent from a young age, and began to play the violin when seven, but after a year left it for the piano. He had his first lessons on the piano from his mother, and was soon placed under the tutelage of Stephen Francis Rimbault. He elected a candidate for admission to Royal Academy of Music at the age of ten, but his mother decided that he should remain at school to pursue general studies. He nonetheless studied independently under Charles Neate, William Crotch, and Henri Herz. As a boy Salaman played duets with Franz Liszt and came to know Muzio Clementi. His first public appearance was at Gesualdo Lanza’s concert at Blackhea