John Young Violins

THIS IS THE PLACE! If Guarneri del Gesu were alive today and you could enter his shop, it would be a lot like meeting John Young. When I first called him on the phone to make an appointment, he was in New York City. The following day, I asked him "What were you doing in New York?" He had been there because some Stradivarius and Guarneri violins had arrived and he wanted to study them. The next time I needed an appointment for a different purpose, he had just arrived from Paris the day before, having been there for a similar reason. On my first visit, there happened to be a John Young violin hanging on the wall and I asked to play it. The first words from my open-jawed mouth were, "I think this is the best violin I have ever played!" Immediately, my mind went to the famous parable of the man, having discovered a pearl in a field, "he went away and sold everything he had and bought it..." We mortgaged the house. Now, whenever I play -- invariably -- I am approached by a violinist, or the parent of a violinist, who will say "My daughter heard your violin and said THAT is the violin I want!" or, "WHERE did you get that violin?!!!!!" On another occasion, as we have no car, a fine violinist drove me to John Young's shop in order to drop off a violin for repair. Curious, naturally, that violinist went into the shop with me. Another John Young violin, one which had just arrived one of several concertmasters of major orchestras who play John Young violins, was hanging on his wall. "Could I try it?" the player asked. Totally unscripted, after playing a few notes THAT violinist, with a look of awe and a smile of pure wonderment, said [quote!]: "I think this is the best violin I've ever played." (I kid you not.) Tellingly, the violinist went on to describe some of the nuances, and John Young asked him, "What type of sound do you like?" The violinist happened to have his violin with him, in his vehicle. "Bring it in," John Young told him. We all watched in amazement as within two minutes, John Young tinkered with this man's violin and returned it, "Now try it." Delighted, the now-shocked violinist said, "This is the best it's ever sounded. I didn't know my violin could sound like this." It is because of John Young's forever humble pursuit of perfection, his unending quest to study every detail of actual great violins that, in my opinion, there is perhaps no other person on earth with as much insight into the minds of Guarneri del Gesu or Stadivarius. Concert violinists -- I own recordings -- who own Guarneri del Gesu violins have opted to record concertos using the preferred sound of their John Young violin. Despite a previous reviewer's comment, this Young is not likely related to that other "Young" who came to this valley, say, around 1847. His arrival to our fortunate city is due to the fact that we have perhaps more violins per capita than any city in the world. This is a musical oasis in the desert, so to speak, and we can thank many great people such as Maurice Abravanel and many others for that. John Young reminds me of John Williams, composer of STAR WARS and most everything else you can remember the melody of from Hollywood, in that not only is he the best, but you will not find a more humble man, in whom there is no guile. His talents are world renowned -- he is mentioned in the biographies of great violinists on Wikipedia -- because his violins are, simply, the best. On another occasion, a colleague of mine was giving a violin recital. I knew his violin fairly well, having heard it many times. It is a uniquely fine sounding violin but not a highly valuable one. Before the recital, he played the strings in order to tune it and I was taken aback by the incredible sound. I asked him, "Who set up your violin?" Without a pause, "John Young." Well, obviously. His recital was attended by another concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, and I was not surprised. Joseph Silverstein's choice to service his Guarneri del Gesu was, of course, John Young. We have a treasure here in Salt Lake City like none other, John Young.
Mar 29th, 2024

There is no one I trust more as a maker and at setup than John.
Dec 5th, 2023

I reccomend him a friend told me about him and he is the best
Nov 3rd, 2023

I was walking home and I met the owner, he is a great guy.
Oct 18th, 2023

I can't recommend John Young enough!!! He is the best of the best. Most recently, my violin stopped speaking on the D and G strings. It was depressing and beyond frustrating. I was convinced that it wasn't possible to fix...all of the usual "fixes" were failing. It was such a mystery. Luckily, in stepped John. He was the ONLY luthier who was able to solve the issue. His ability to diagnose, problem solve, and think outside of the box is incredible. Not only did he solve the problem, he got my violin sounding better than ever. He truly is a master luthier.
Sep 29th, 2023