"Art Rebel" Both in Fine Art & Music ~ Performed for F.D. R. at The White House

Written by Diane Duthweiler Tuesday, 28 June 2011 23:05

North Bend, WA – Famed violist Emanuel Vardi, whose life story encompasses nearly a century of politics, art and music, passed away at his North Bend home in Washington State, on January 29th at age 95. Born April 21, 1915 in Jerusalem, the family came to the United States in 1920. Vardi was accepted to New York’s   renowned Juilliard School when he was only 12 years old.  He went on to be considered one of the greatest violists of the 20th century.  He had a long concert career; worked in early television; and as a conductor, producer and arranger. As an artist, his music-themed works gained an international following. “He was truly a most unique individual - musically and artistically - and he had a dose of ‘rebel’ in him, so he was always trying new things,” said Lenore Vardi, his wife of 26 years. In 1942, Vardi was named Recitalist of the Year by New York’s music critics.  He is one of only two violists in the world to have given a solo recital at Carnegie Hall.

Vardi’s father, Joseph Vardi, was a respected violinist and violin teacher who started Emanuel on the violin when he was two-and-a-half.  Vardi was too young for Juilliard when he passed the audition at age 12, so Juilliard sent him to the Institute of Musical Art where he studied under Constance Seeger - folk singer Pete Seeger’s mother.  Vardi dropped out a few years later and, in his words, was “bumming around” when he ran into Mrs. Seeger on a New York street.  She arranged for him to attend Juilliard where he studied violin and viola under Edouard Dethier.

Vardi left Juilliard when he was offered a job with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. During World War II, Vardi joined the U.S. Navy Band.  At one point, Eleanor Roosevelt heard Vardi and whisked him to the White House to play viola for FDR.

Fine art was a lifelong interest, so Vardi used his GI bill to study at Florence’s Academia de Belle Arte from 1950-52.  While there, he won an international competition and his prize painting was purchased and hung in an Italian museum. In a 2010 interview for a Washington radio station, Vardi said "I just loved working with color and design. I always thought there was a relationship between music and painting the color of sound. You can have a piece of music that sounds blue or purple or red. Like Scheherezade is red, bright oranges, and stuff." After his return to New York, Vardi attended The Art Students League and the Brooklyn Museum Art School, but music was his primary focus.  He had a long solo career and recorded and performed with some of the most stellar names in classical music –  Itzhak Perlman, Arthur Rubenstein, Van Cliburn, Vladimir Horowitz, and American popular music –  Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Barbra Streisand.  Vardi conducted orchestras for live performances, movie scores and television and was the South Dakota Symphony’s music director and conductor for several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

After a wrist injury, then a fall that hurt his shoulder, "Manny" stopped performing nearly 20 years ago.  He began spending more time teaching and mentoring musicians.  He enjoyed giving master classes throughout the world and served as music director of several festivals.  Vardi’s drawings and paintings in recent decades most frequently feature musicians and were sometimes “on the scene” surrounding classical or jazz musicians as they played live.

The music-themed paintings of Emanuel and Lenore Vardi surrounded the Greta Matassa Quartet at the 2009 Bellevue Jazz Festival, shortly after the longtime New Yorkers moved to nearby North Bend, WA.  Emanuel acted as musical advisor to the Vardi Chamber Players at this past summer’s Snoqualmie Valley Festival of Music while Lenore served as musical director and violinist.

The Vardis are well known for loaning and donating their artwork and talents to community events and arts endeavors.  Their art was the centerpiece of two recent shows at Waikiki’s "ING Direct Café" and is currently featured at the Laurel Tree Gallery in Duvall, WA and Revolution Gallery in Issaquah, WA.

Along with his wife, Vardi is survived by his daughters, Andrea Smith of Fairfield, Iowa and Pauline Normand of Bonsecours, Quebec.  Memorial gatherings are expected in the Seattle area in the coming weeks and in New York later this year.

If you would like more information about the Vardi couple you can find it at www.vardiart.com & http://www.lenorevardi.com.

Obituary provide by Diane Duthweiler ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

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