Saxophone

The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax, a musician born into a family of instrument makers in the early 19th century. Sax felt that the orchestra lacked a strong voice in the woodwind section, and his initial designs for one that could fill the gap combined elements of brass instruments that gave them their volume with components of the woodwinds that lent flexibility and greater control. Many composers, from Berlioz to Rossini, loved the saxophone from the outset, with its ability to blend as well as its large dynamic range. Sax himself went to great lengths to promote his instrument too—perhaps too much as rival instrument makers teamed up to boycott the saxophone. That led composers to avoid writing for it, which was a major reason why the saxophone never took up a permanent place in the orchestra. By the 20th century, however, it was included more often in chamber and orchestral works, sometimes as a soloist. In his Symphonic Dances, Rachmaninoff gives the first statement of one of his most beautiful melodies to the saxophone. Prokofiev used it in his ballets, such as in the famous tune from Romeo and Juliet. Ravel used three of them in Boléro. And Glazunov, Ibert, James MacMillan, John Adams, and more have all written concertos for the saxophone.