JAVS Summer 2026

Rosand immediately recognized Young’s potential, remarking that “[Young] was fifteen or sixteen but seemed older, more mature […] He was extremely bright and a remarkable violinist. His musical ability, sense of phrasing, and instincts were all so good.” Rosand encouraged Young to apply to the Indiana University School of Music, where he auditioned for the renowned violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold. Gingold accepted him immediately. Young later described his teacher as “warm, encouraging, nourishing.” Former concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, Gingold taught far more than violin technique and musicianship. Through his example, he demonstrated how gifted teachers can cultivate talent through encouragement, high standards, and positive reinforcement—principles that would later become central to Young’s own teaching philosophy. Gingold’s confidence in his student was evident in a letter to Rosand in which he wrote, “I have nothing to teach the boy, he’s so well-prepared.” When Young graduated in 1969, the Vietnam War was at its height and his draft lottery number was three. Facing imminent military service, he auditioned successfully for the U.S. Army Band’s string ensemble and spent three years in the Washington D.C. area performing at the White House and other official functions. Although he later described the position as relatively easy, he felt compelled to use the opportunity productively. He practiced extensively, continued studying with Rosand, and completed a master’s degree at Catholic University. Within a month of his discharge in 1972, Young joined the New Hungarian String Quartet as second violinist. In residence at Oberlin College, the ensemble was comprised of two seasoned quartet pros, and two young professionals in their mid-twenties. The quartet provided an intensive introduction to professional chamber music. “For a kid right out of the Army it was a huge chance to learn and perform with one of the better touring ensembles,” he recalled. During his years at Oberlin he also met his future wife, pianist Jenni Cawein, who later became an important environmental engineer. After the New Hungarian Quartet disbanded in 1979, Young returned to New York while continuing to teach at Oberlin. A year later he joined the Rogeri Trio with pianist Barbara Weintraub and cellist Carter Brey,

who later was the principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic for thirty years, until 2026.

Brey first encountered Young through a radio broadcast of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A Major. Struck by the beauty and imagination of the performance, he sought out the violinist and soon invited him to join the trio. Looking back on their collaboration, Brey described Young as both an exceptional musician and an important influence: “I learned a lot playing with Richard […] His playing was so wonderfully imaginative and full of flair. He was unlike anyone I had ever played with before, and he made me think in ways that I had never done.” These formative experiences—as student, performer, chamber musician, and teacher—laid the foundation for the artistic and pedagogical values that would later define Young’s work as a violist, mentor, and advocate for young musicians. Joining the Vermeer Quartet For Young, the Rogeri Trio provided another invaluable learning experience, allowing him to perform alongside outstanding musicians while exploring the rich piano trio repertoire. The ensemble remained active for five years. Shortly thereafter, while substituting for the first violinist of the Muir Quartet in Australia, Young received a phone call that would alter the course of his career. The caller was Marc Johnson, cellist of the Vermeer Quartet. Johnson had known Young since their student days at Indiana University and remembered him as a violinist whose musical qualities seemed naturally suited to the viola: “I always had it in my ear that Richard was a violinist with a dark tone and deep vibrato who would sound great as a violist. When Bernie [Zaslav] left, Richard’s was the first name that popped into my head.”

Young expressed immediate interest, but there was one problem.

“He said, ‘I don’t play viola,’” Johnson remembered. “I told him, ‘Well, you’ve got six weeks to learn.’”

As violists know, the transition to the bigger instrument is not trivial. At the time, Young had virtually no formal viola training and was not fluent in alto clef. Yet the opportunity to join one of the world’s leading string quartets was impossible to ignore.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, Summer 2026 Online Issue

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