Page 6 - Info Magazine nr 15 JANUARY 2021

Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the Saxophone

Antoine-Joseph Sax was born on 6 November 1814, in Dinant, in what is now Belgium, to Charles-Jo-
seph Sax and his wife Marie-Joseph (Masson). While his given name was Antoine-Joseph, he was
referred to as Adolphe from childhood. His father and mother were instrument designers them-
selves, who made several changes to the design of the French horn. Adolphe began to make his
own instruments at an early age, entering two of his flutes and a clarinet into a competition at the
age of 15. He subsequently studied performance on those two instruments as well as voice at the
Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

Sax's workshop at 50 Rue Saint-Georges in Paris

After leaving the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Sax began to experiment with new instrument
designs, while his parents continued their business of making conventional instruments. Sax's
first important invention was an improvement in bass clarinet design which he patented at the age
of 24. He relocated permanently to Paris in 1842 and began working on a new set of valved bugles.
While he did not invent this instrument, his examples were much more successful than those of
his rivals and became known as saxhorns. Hector Berlioz was so enamoured of these that he ar-
ranged in February 1844 for one of his pieces to be played entirely on saxhorns. They were made
in seven different sizes and paved the way for the creation of the flugelhorn. Today, saxhorns
are sometimes used in concert bands, marching bands, and
orchestras. The saxhorn also laid the groundwork for the mo-
dern euphonium.
Sax also developed the saxotromba family, valved brass in-
struments with narrower bore than the saxhorns, in 1845,
though they survived only briefly.
The use of saxhorns spread rapidly.
The period around 1840 saw Sax inventing the clarinet-
te-bourdon, an early unsuccessful design of contrabass cla-
rinet. On 28 June 1846 he patented the saxophone, intended
for use in orchestras and military bands. By 1846 Sax had de-
signed saxophones ranging from sopranino to subcontrabass
although not all were built. Composer Hector Berlioz wrote
approvingly of the new instrument in 1842 but despite his
support saxophones did not become a standard part of the
orchestra. Their ability to play technical passages easily like woodwinds yet project loudly like
brass instruments led to their inclusion in military bands in France and elsewhere. His reputation
helped secure him a job teaching at the Paris Conservatory in 1857.
Sax continued to make instruments later in life and presided over the new saxophone program at
the Paris Conservatory.
Sax suffered from lip cancer between 1853 and 1858 but made a full recovery. In 1894 he died in
poverty in Paris.
(source: wikipedia)