Richard Burnett

Richard Burnett (23 June 1932, Godstone, Surrey — 8 July 2022, Kent) was a British concert pianist, composer, maker & restorer of harpsichords and other keyboard stringed instruments, renowned collector of early pianos, organologist, and founder of the Finchcocks Living Museum of Music. This unique collection of over 100 harpsichords, clavichords, early fortepianos, organs, and other related keyboard instruments was open to the public from 1976 to December 2015 — located at the historical 18th-century manor that Richard owned with his wife, Katrina Eveline Burnett, née Hendrey (b. November 1937). In the last photo, R. Burnett is with tenor Ian Partridge (left) and actress Prunella Scales, who gave over 400 performances of their show, "An Evening With Queen Victoria." Burnett studied at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, where Richard earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1952, he graduated with a Licentiate Diploma from the Royal College of Music, London and soon began a career as a concert pianist. In 1970, Richard and Katrina Burnett, who got married in November 1969, moved into their newly purchased house, an early Georgian-era manor built in 1725 and named "Finchcocks" after the 13th-century family that resided in the area. Shortly after, Burnett launched a partnership with renowned British harpsichord maker Derek Adlam (b. 1938). They opened a workshop at Finchcocks and successfully operated the Adlam Burnett firm for the next 10–12 years. In 1976, after an extensive renovation of the estate, Burnetts opened a Finchcocks Musical Museum, showcasing Richard's unique collection of about 115 period keyboard instruments. In 1984, Burnett established the Finchcocks Charity for Musical Education, an organization that aimed to promote and strengthen early music education, both for performers and instrument-builders. By 2015, 83-year-old Burnett had lost his hearing. Richard and Katrina decided to shut down the Musical Museum and sell the estate. At the "Richard Burnett Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments" auction, co-hosted in May 2016 by Dreweatts and Bloomsbury Auctions, the instruments and other exhibits sold for a total of £1,136,000, with all the funds donated to their Musical Education Charity. (Burnetts kept 14 particularly valuable instruments, available by appointment to all interested musicians, as well as instrument restorers and makers. In August 2016, an in-depth interview with Katrina and Richard was published in the British Harpsichord Society's newsletter Sounding Board, Issue No. 10.) Later the same year, the Burnett family sold the Finchcocks estate for over $3 million; new owners pledged to continue the commitment and retain a small collection of historical instruments on display.