Long known as the world’s leading viola soloist, Emanuel Vardi is acclaimed as a performer, pedagogue and champion of his instrument. In 1942, Mr. Vardi received the prestigious “Recitalist of the Year” award from the New York music critics for the best New York recital following his Town Hall debut. His many concerts and recitals have taken him throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Far East. As a member of the unparalleled NBC Symphony Orchestra, and protégé of the famed conductor Arturo Toscanini, he has soloed many times with that famed orchestra, and was given the extraordinary distinction of being asked to perform a solo recital at the White House for Franklin D. Roosevelt during WWII. Mr. Vardi is one of one two violist in the world to have ever given a solo recital in Carnegie Hall. The only person to have ever recorded all 24 Paganini Caprices on the viola, Mr. Vardi has made numerous recordings which can be heard on such labels as MGM, Kapp, Musical Heritage Society, Audio Fidelity, Vox, Columbia, and RCA. Following a severe accident in 1993, Mr. Vardi, an avid painter throughout his music career, retired from the concert stage and decided to devote the rest of his life to art.