Elvino Vardaro

Elvino Vardaro (18 June 1905, Buenos Aires - 5 August 1971, Córdoba, Argentina) was an Argentine tango composer and violinist.

Vardaro grew up in the Abasto neighborhood of Buenos Aires and at the age of four he began studying the violin. At the age fourteen he made his concert debut with a violin recital of classical music and whilst playing violin to accompany silent films he met the pianists Rodolfo Biagi and Luis Visca who played with him.

In 1922 he joined the orquestra directed by Juan Maglio and later went on to play with the ensemble of the bandoneonist Paquito Bernardo. The following year he joined Roberto Firpo’s orchestra and played alongside the violinists Octavio Scaglione and Cayetano Puglisi with whom he would become close friends.

In 1926 the bandoneonist Pedro Maffia left the orchestra of Julio de Caro and formed his own ensemble with Osvaldo Pugliese on piano, Pedro Maffia and Alfredo De Franco on bandoneons, Elvino Vardaro and Emilio Puglisi on violins and Francisco De Lorenzo on double bass. That same year Vardaro composed his first tango, Grito del alma. In 1929 he joined with Osvaldo Pugliese in forming the Vardaro-Pugliese Sextet that played together until 1931. Two years later he organised a sextet with Aníbal Troilo and Jorge Argentino Fernandez on bandoneons, Hugo Baralis and Vardaro on violins, Pedro Carracciolo on double bass and Jose Pascual on piano. In 1935 he introduced a third bandoneonist Eduardo Marino and in 1937 the singers Francisco Alfredo Marino, Carlos Lafuente, Guillermo Arbos and Nelly de la Vega joined the ensemble which performed in cafes, cabarets and on the radio in Buenos Aires and in Montevideo in Uruguay. In 1938 he played with Lucio Demare in an ensemble which included the singer Juan Carlos Miranda and two pianos.

After retiring to live in Cordoba he reappeared in 1941 to conduct the jazz orchestra Brighton Jazz, which performed on Radio El Mundo and in cafes and cabarets and recorded two works, one of which, Violinomania, was written by Argentino Galván and dedicated to Vardaro in tribute to his virtuosity.

For several years he played in the orchestra of Joaquin Do Reyes and was heard on Radio El Mundo and during the 1940s and 1950s he appeared with the orchestras of Adolfo Perez, Osvaldo Fresedo and Fulvio Salamanca.

In 1955 he joined Ástor Piazzolla’s Orquesta de Cuerdos and in 1961 moved to Piazzolla’s first Quinteto. During this same period he was also performing with the orchestra of Carlos di Sarli.

In the last years of his life he moved to Arguello, near the city of Cordoba, where he played in the provincial symphony orchestra until his death on 5 August 1971.

Birth and Death Data: Born June 18, 1905 (Buenos Aires), Died August 5, 1971

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1937

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, violin, leader

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BAVE-44314 10-in. September 1928 El presumido Trio Victor Instrumental trio instrumentalist, violin  
Victor BAVE-44315 10-in. September 1928 Kiss me again Trio Victor Instrumental trio instrumentalist, violin  
Victor BAVE-44395 10-in. winter 1928 Dominio Orquesta Típica Victor Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BAVE-44416 10-in. winter 1928 Mi novio triste Trio Victor Instrumental trio instrumentalist, violin  
Victor BAVE-44417 10-in. winter 1928 Un beso Trio Victor Instrumental trio instrumentalist, violin, composer  
Victor BAVE-44418 10-in. winter 1928 Juanita Trio Victor Instrumental trio instrumentalist, violin  
Victor BAVE-44419 10-in. winter 1928 Página gris Trio Victor Instrumental trio instrumentalist, violin  
Victor BAVE-44564 10-in. Summer 1929 Dominio Mercedes Simone Female vocal solo, with guitars composer  
Victor BAVE-44966 10-in. Fall 1929 Y a mí qué me importa Ernesto Famá Male vocal solo composer  
Victor BAVE-44995 10-in. Winter 1930 Y a mí qué me importa Orquesta Típica J. Guido Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BAVE-60466 10-in. October 1930 Tinieblas Orquesta Típica Carlos Marcucci Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BAVE-60886 10-in. 8/6/1931 Tinieblas Tito Schipa Tenor vocal solo composer  
Victor BAVE-74134 10-in. May 1933 Imaginación Libertad Lamarque Female vocal solo composer  
Victor BAVE-74143 10-in. 5/17/1933 Imaginación Fernando Díaz ; Orquesta Típica Francisco J. Lomuto Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BAVE-93274 10-in. 8/12/1936 Amelia Cuarteto del 900 Instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BAVE-93276 10-in. Between 8/12/1936 and 9/3/1936 La ribera Orquesta Elvino Vardaro ; Alberto Vila Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader  
Victor BAVE-93277 10-in. Between 8/12/1936 and 9/3/1936 Siempre unidos Orquesta Elvino Vardaro ; Alberto Vila Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader  
Columbia CO21184 10-in. 4/20/1937 Miedo : Tango canción Carlos Viván Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Vardaro, Elvino," accessed November 5, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106007.

Vardaro, Elvino. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 5, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106007.

"Vardaro, Elvino." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 5 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106007

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