Christian Bayon:
A different approach to new instruments - body stability and innovative bass bar
Christian Bayon
A different approach to new instruments - body stability and innovative bass bar
Forces are present in violins and cellos which result in deformation:
• Is it possible to think in a different way after 500 years of violin making?
• Solutions to prevent deformation or to fix it in new and old instruments
• Possible innovation in bass bar design, results and options.
Born in Paris in 1955, Christian Bayon started making violins at the age of 21. Three years later, he won the “Bourse de la Vocation” prize and joined the Jean Schmitt workshop in Lyon, working simultaneously with the French acoustician Emile Leipp. In 1982, Christian became Etienne Vatelot’s assistant. In 1990 he established his own workshop in Lisbon, Portugal.
In 2003, after 27 years of successful restoration work, he decided to put to use his knowledge of prestigious older instruments to focus on making instruments, in particular copying 18th century Italian cellos and violins.
Since 2021, he has split his time between Lisbon and Amsterdam where he has opened a second workshop.