Peter Bavington – Clavichord

PETER BAVINGTON was born in 1941 and educated in London and Exeter. After working for many years as a Civil Servant, he decided in 1982 on a complete change of career and enrolled at the London College of Furniture (now London Metropolitan University), where he studied early keyboard instruments under Lewis Jones. In 1985 he obtained his Higher National Diploma in Musical Instrument Technology with distinction in every unit.

He then spent two years working with John Rawson before founding his own London workshop, making and restoring harpsichords, clavichords and fortepianos. In addition to individual musicians, his customers have included the Royal Academy of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. As well as making instruments, Peter undertakes historical and acoustic research, and is a regular participant in international organological conferences. He is a founder member and past Chairman of the British Clavichord Society.

For the past twenty years, Peter has focussed mainly on the clavichord; he believes that to produce a really responsive clavichord is the supreme challenge for a keyboard instrument maker.