Arie Vardi

Arie Vardi (; born 1937) is an Israeli classical pianist, conductor, and piano pedagogue. He is laureate of the Israel Prize in 2017.

Music career Vardi launched his concert career at the age of fifteen as the winner of the Chopin Competition in Israel and the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest. For television viewers he is best known for his series Master Classes, the family series of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra which he conducts and presents, and also currently for his new series Intermezzo with Arik.

Students Vardi’s students include concert artists Nareh Arghamanyan, Astrith Baltsan, Yefim Bronfman, Kevin Chen, Sa Chen, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Boris Giltburg, Chi-Ho Han, Martin Helmchen, Claire Huangci, Dasol Kim, Yundi Li, Dong Hyun Lim, Mateusz Molęda, Joseph Mook, Illia Ovcharenko, Francesco Piemontesi, Roman Rabinovitch, Beatrice Rana, Aviram Reichert, Tomoki Sakata, Lahav Shani, Dmitry Shishkin, Yeol Eum Son, Yaara Tal, Alessandro Taverna, and Xiaohan Wang. His students have won over 65 first prizes at international competitions.

Mathematician Noam Elkies was a student of his between 1972 and 1978.

Jury member Vardi is currently the artistic advisor and chairman of the jury of the Arthur Rubinstein International Master Competition.

Master classes Vardi has held master classes and presented lecture recitals at many of the world's top conservatories. His recordings of Mozart concertos have included the Concerto for Three Pianos with Yefim Bronfman and Radu Lupu. Vardi teaches at the Hochschule für Musik Hannover, Germany, and at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv.

Awards and recognition His recordings have won critical acclaim. In 2004, the Minister of Education Award was bestowed upon him for his lifetime achievement. In 2017, Vardi was awarded the Israel Prize.