JAVS Summer 2026

Featured Article

Richard Young and ‘The Deal’ by Les Jacobson

“Don’t play the notes. Play the meaning of the notes.” – Pablo Casals

“I felt I had to justify my success,” he later recalled. At the time, however, he had no clear idea what that might mean.

The answer began to emerge through a community outreach project shortly after he joined the quartet. Young volunteered to provide free weekly lessons to students from an underserved Chicago neighborhood. During one lesson, a thirteen-year-old African-American student posed an unexpected question: “Hey Richard,” she said, “my mama asked me why these lessons are free. I didn’t know what to tell her. My mama says nothing in life is free. You’re going to want something.” Young was struck by the question. After a moment, he replied that the student’s mother was right: the lessons were not free. Rather than repaying them with money, however, he asked that she someday pass along something of value to someone else: “It may take you years before you can pay off these lessons,” he told her. “It might be in music, it might be in some other field. But whenever you’re ready to share your knowledge or skills with someone else, you do it. And do it for free.” This simple agreement became what Young called “The Deal.” Over the following decades, it evolved into the guiding principle behind his teaching, mentorship, and international outreach work. Whether coaching elite chamber ensembles, mentoring young musicians, or helping to build large-scale educational programs in Brazil and Colombia, Young consistently emphasized not only artistic excellence but also personal responsibility, service, and the obligation to help others.

Introduction When Richard Young became the violist of the Vermeer Quartet in 1985, he joined one of the most highly regarded chamber ensembles of its era. Founded in Chicago by violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi in 1969, the Vermeer Quartet had established an international reputation through its performances, recordings, and residencies. Critics from every corner of the world seemed to swoon over the quartet’s artistry: “The Vermeer Quartet’s interpretations seem so nearly perfect that one can more easily appreciate music as universal harmony,” writes Poland’s Ruch Muzyczny. What these peerless players give us is a heady blend of old-fashioned warmth and communicativeness with exemplary demonstrations of modern standards of both taste and technique. More persuasive performances of any of these Beethoven quartets are simply not to be found. For Young, who had already built a successful career as a violinist with the New Hungarian String Quartet and the Rogeri Piano Trio, the invitation represented both professional validation and an extraordinary performing opportunity. But with it came a feeling of responsibility. Stereo Review agreed, writing

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

41