Roman Goronok was born in St Petersburg, Russia, in 1978; he is the son of Russian luthier Michael Goronok and classical violinist, Eugenia Poustyreva. He immigrated to the United States with his family at age 11 and trained as a classical violinist at the Cleveland Institute of Music with his mother, then in San Francisco with Zaven Melikian for violin and Susan Bates for chamber music. Aged 17 he was offered a place with Professor Zakhar Bron, and lived in Germany for five years, initially in Lubeck and then in Cologne. In 2000 he returned to Cleveland Institute of Music to study with Donald Weilerstein, and received a Bachelors Degree in violin performance in 2001.

 

In the fall of 2000 Roman was involved in a serious accident, causing life-changing decisions. He decided to cease playing the violin professionally, and enrolled in MBA level courses at CWRU Weatherhead School of Management. Subsequently he was introduced to Paul Becker, of Carl Becker and Son, and sold instruments on their behalf. He started to travel to Europe and through Carl Becker was introduced to Charles Beare, "the most esteemed authenticator in the world", through whom Roman learned extensively about instrument identification and the central issue of authentication.

​

He also started to identify other aspects of the business of fine and rare stringed instruments (FRSI) that interested him greatly. At this time researchers such as David Shoenbaum and Jon Gertner were developing these themes, and the nature and status of the business was changing. Moving to London in 2007, Roman took these interests further through study at Sotheby’s Institute of Art London, leading to his Master’s dissertation, “Developing criteria for identifying authentication experts in the art world, their establishment as such, their recognition and their use”, where Charles Beare and Professor Henry Lydiate offered invaluable help in addressing the pivotal role of the expert in the FRSI market. 

 

In 2002 Roman established The Roman Goronok Company (TRGC), a boutique investment firm specializing in fine and rare stringed instruments. He has expertise in the provenance and identification of instruments, the needs of professional musicians, the world of patronage and collection, and the business of investment.