Emanuel Vardi (21 April 1915 – 29 January 2011), an American violist, was considered to have been one of the great viola players of the 20th century.

Early life

Emanuel Vardi was born April 21, 1915, in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. His mother, Anna Joffa Vardi, had a piano studio with many students and started Emanuel on piano at about age 3. His father, Joseph Vardi had a violin studio and also started his son out on his instrument at about the age of 3. The family came to the United States in 1920 via Paris, France, aboard a ship called "the Asia" to escape the

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

s in the Middle East. He continued studying both piano and violin until about age 7, when he forwent piano to focus on violin. He played Mozart's Fantasy in D-minor at a recital at age 9. The next day the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' came out with an article by Charles Isaacson where he said, "Keep a lookout for this future pianist". At age 12, his father found out about the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, and filled out a submission form which was accepted. Then when they showed up for the audition, the jury expected his father to play. But his father pointed to Emanuel and said "no, he will be the one playing". They accepted Emanuel, but since the age limit was 16, he was sent to the Institute of Musical Art, where he studied under Constance Seeger, mother of folk singer

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

. Around age 14, Constance got him into the private Walden School, since the public schools wouldn't allow him sufficient daily practice time. She arranged for him to have 2 to 3 hours of practice daily. While there he was dubbed Mani by one of his teachers, Mr. Hill. About age 15, Emanuel dropped out of school for a time as a sort of teenage rebellion and lived with his friend Zack Baratz. Constance noticed he wasn't in school, coaxed him to return to his studies and then he was invited to return to Juilliard.

Career

In 1942, Vardi received the “Recitalist of the Year” award from the New York music critics for the best New York recital following his

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

debut. He had the distinction of being asked to perform a solo recital at the White House for President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

during World War II. Vardi is one of one two violists in the world to have ever given a solo recital in

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. He taught at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. In crossing musical genres of classical and jazz, he toured and performed with jazz greats such as

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...

. In 1955, he was a soloist with the

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. ...

, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series. In the early 1960s, Vardi worked for

Audio Fidelity Records Audio Fidelity Records was a record company based in New York City, most active during the 1950s and 1960s. They are best known for having produced the first mass-produced American stereophonic long-playing record in November 1957 (although this ...

in New York as producer. In 1985, Vardi was featured in a full-length article in ''

The Strad ''The Strad'' is a UK-based monthly classical music magazine about string instrumentsprincipally the violin, viola, cello, and double bassfor amateur and professional musicians. Founded in 1889, the magazine provides information, photographs and ...

'', and in 2003 he was honored with a lengthy interview in the

American Viola Society The American Viola Society (AVS) is an organization headquartered in Dallas, Texas that encourages excellence in performance, pedagogy, research, composition, and lutherie by fostering communication and friendship among violists of all skill levels, ...

Journal, with his painting “Homage to a Great Violist” appearing on the front cover. Due to an accident in 1993, Vardi lost the use of his shoulder, forcing him to retire from the viola. After his accident Vardi continued with his painting and art endeavors. Emanuel Vardi died in

North Bend, Washington North Bend is a city in King County, Washington, United States, on the outskirts of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 7,461 at the 2020 census. The city is east of Seattle on Interstate 90 and lies in the foothills of the ...

, at the age of 95.

Compositions

* ''Prelude'' for cello and piano, Op. 2 No. 1 * ''Suite on American Folk Songs'' for viola (or violin) and orchestra (or piano) (1944) :# The Unconstant Lover :# I Will and I Must get Married :# The Wayfaring Stranger :# On the Banks of the Old Pee Dee * ''Modern Sensations'', Variations on a Theme by Paganini for trumpet and piano (or band) (1963) * ''Themes from the

Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', commonly referred to as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of t ...

'' for optional flute and clarinet and orchestra (1973) * ''Suite Based on American Folk Songs'' for viola and piano (1977) :# Beginning :# Song :# Not So Square Dance :# Ad lib. and Slow Walk :# Middle Fiddler in 3/4 Time * ''Conceptions in Rhythm'', Concerto for violin and orchestra (1978)

References

* Sieb, Calvin
"The Development of a Violinist: Emanuel Vardi"
Siegel Productions, Canada. *Tang, Lydia, " The Multi-Faceted Artistry of Violist Emanuel Vardi," doctoral thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 2016

External links

About Emanuel Vardi on his official website

World-renowned musician, Emanuel Vardi dies at home in North Bend
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardi, Emanuel 1915 births 2011 deaths Musicians from Jerusalem American classical violists Emigrants from Mandatory Palestine to the United States Juilliard School alumni Manhattan School of Music faculty Temple University faculty 20th-century American classical musicians People from North Bend, Washington Walden School (New York City) alumni 20th-century American violists