April 6, 2006 Issue                                               

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Chestnut Hill’s ‘Music Man’
Golden wins gold; best violin maker in competition
by LEN LEAR

Harold Golden, surrounded by his remarkable award-winning instruments in his Chestnut Hill studio

Even many non-musicians have heard of names like Stradivarius and Guarneri. They were Italian makers of violins about 300 years ago whose power and tone are still so extraordinary that if their wood has not deteriorated over time, they now cost more than $1 million each — if they can be found, that is.

“I have played a $1 million Guaneri violin and a $1 million Stradivarius,” explained Harold Golden, Chestnut Hill resident who knows something about violins himself. “The music from each of those violins sends a chill up your spine.”

A few hundred years from now, there is a chance classical violinists may be saying the same thing about a Golden violin. Golden, 59, a retired music teacher who began by playing bass violin in his high school orchestra, also wanted to learn to play the guitar as a teen but could not afford one. Therefore, he bought a kit and made himself one. He has been making string instruments ever since, primarily violins. These days he creates amazing violins in his cluttered workshop (a converted garage) on Winston Road near Mermaid Lane.

According to Doug Jasik, a professional violinist who plays with one of Golden’s creations, “The responsiveness of his violin is amazing, and the depth and evenness are wonderful. I have trouble putting this violin down.”

John Brennan, another professional violinist, added, “I love my Golden violin so much that I now have two of them.”

Golden has been making violins for 30 years. He started out as an apprentice to German violin maker Sofian Zapf, owner of Zapf’s Music in Olney, and later worked with Clifford Roberts, known for his Italianesque instruments. After 15 years the Chestnut Hiller took off on his own. He makes copies of Stradivaris, Guaneris, Amatis and Baldontonis as well as his own design based on the “Golden Number” of the Renaissance. He makes both violins and violas.

Golden uses specially chosen wood from British Columbia, Vermont, New York State and Europe, and his varnish is from pine resin and sandarac, which is painstakingly collected at the prime time of the year. “In order for every person in an auditorium to hear every note perfectly,” the violin craftsman explained, “the wood has to have a dense grain and a beautiful grain pattern, and it has to sound good when you thump it with your knuckles. My goal is to create a well-balanced, clear, bell-like sound.

“People often ask me why I make violins,” added Golden, who opened his Chestnut Hill workshop 16 years ago. “It’s just something I absolutely have to do. There is something about the feel of the wood and seeing the instrument take shape in your hands and the way it sounds when you run a bow across the strings after it is completed. It’s just an amazing, very rewarding experience.”

Golden’s reputation is growing and glowing like the sound that comes out of one of his instruments. Last November he traveled to Arizona to take part in an annual competition sponsored by the Violin Makers Association of Arizona, International, the oldest violin making association in the U.S. David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, helped Harold select the violin he entered in the competition.

More than 100 violins were entered by their makers, who came from all over the U.S. and several foreign countries. Of the more than 100 violins examined and tested by the judges, Golden’s came in fourth.

Then, in late February of this year, Harold was invited by the British Violin Makers Association to compete in London against 40 British violin makers and many others from other countries. Golden was the only American in the contest. A few others were invited but failed to go because of the time and expense involved.

Out of more than 200 violins tested by the judges, members of a British group called The Pioro Quartet from the Royal Academy of Music, two were selected as co-equal winners and then used in a performance on February 22. One of the two violin winners was the entrant by Harold Golden. It was the same one he had entered in the Arizona competition, but he had continued working on it and improving its sound in the interim.

If Golden has to make a violin in a hurry, he can complete one in four weeks. Normally, however, it takes about two months and sells for about $7,000, which is less than half of what new violins that may not be as good have been fetching in Europe.

Even many classical music lovers are not aware that there is currently a renaissance in violin making in the U.S. A generation ago it was much easier for judges to select a winner in a violin making competition because the competition was not nearly as keen as it is today.

“There are so many really good violin makers, both men and women, in the U.S. today,” said Golden. “In my opinion, they are just as good as the old Italian violin makers. That’s because we now have great research. We are working on harmonic principles they used in the Renaissance. We have found that there are principles inside the violin that create the Italian sound, but you still have to work them out for yourself, and that is so time-consuming and painstaking.

“It’s a trial-and-error process, and you have to be very patient. You keep trying different variations in the thicknesses and types of the wood, the lacquer and the glue. There is no formula you can use to make a really great instrument, like those of centuries ago. If there were, factories would be turning them out by the hundreds.”

Golden, who also plays with the Germantown Academy Orchestra, lives on the Hill with his wife, Beatrice, a former pianist and string bass player. For more information, call 215-242-0307 or visit www.goldenviolins.com.