Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax was a Belgian inventor and musician who invented the saxophone in the early 1840s, patenting it in 1846. He also invented the saxotromba, saxhorn and saxtuba, and redesigned the bass clarinet in a fashion still used to the present day. He played the flute and clarinet.
The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. A person who plays the saxophone is called a saxophonist or saxist.
Frederick L. Hemke(néFred LeRoy Hemke Jr.; July 11, 1935 – April 17, 2019) was an American virtuoso classical saxophonist and influential professor of saxophone at Northwestern University. Hemke helped to increase the popularity of classical saxophone, particularly among leading American composers. He contributed to raising the recognition of the classical saxophone in solo, chamber, and major orchestral repertoire throughout the world. For half a century, from 1962 to 2012, Hemke was a full-time faculty member at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. In 2002, he was named Associate Dean Emeritus of the school. He retired in 2012. Throughout his career, Hemke helped build American saxophone repertoire through many composers including Muczynski, Creston, Stein, Heiden, and Karlins. Journalist and author Michael Segell, in his 2005 book, The Devil's Horn, called Hemke "The Dean of Saxophone Education in America." Hemke died on April 17, 2019.
The Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed.
Eugene Ellsworth Rousseau was an American classical saxophonist. He played mainly the alto and soprano saxophones, though early in his career he was equally active as a clarinetist.
Jean-Marie Londeix is a French saxophonist born in Libourne who studied saxophone, piano, harmony and chamber music.
Paul Brodie, was a Canadian saxophonist, pupil of Larry Teal and then Marcel Mule. In 1994, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for having "shown true mastery of his art through his ability to reach all ages with his music".
Kyle Horch is a classical saxophonist.
Vince Giordano is an American saxophonist and leader of the New York-based Nighthawks Orchestra. He specializes in jazz of the 1920s and 1930s and his primary instrument is the bass saxophone. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks have played on television and film soundtracks, including the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and Woody Allen's musical comedy film Everyone Says I Love You.
A saxophone quartet is a musical ensemble composed of four saxophones, typically soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Different saxophone family members are employed to provide a larger range and a variety of tone colours. Other arrangements of instruments also exist, but are rarer. A piece of music composed for such an ensemble can also itself be referred to as a saxophone quartet.
Kenneth Tse 謝德驥 is a Chinese American classical saxophonist. Tse was mainly self-taught as a youth until he met world-renowned saxophone artist and pedagogue Eugene Rousseau in 1989. He then studied at the Indiana University School of Music with Rousseau from 1993 to 1998, where he received his BM, MM, and Artist Diploma. Rousseau has called him "a brilliant saxophonist, worthy of any stage in the world." Tse earned a doctorate degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying under saxophonist Debra Richtmeyer.
The Concerto in E flat major for alto saxophone and string orchestra, Op. 109, was written by Alexander Glazunov in 1934. The piece lasts about fourteen minutes and is played without pause. It is deeply rooted in Romanticism, and has entered the standard saxophone repertoire.
Joseph Lulloff is an American saxophonist and educator.
Mark Engebretson, DMA, Northwestern University is a saxophonist and composer. His music combines computer music and live performance, the latter usually performed on saxophone.
Arno Bornkamp is a Dutch classical saxophonist, the professor of the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and is considered an influential soloist in the classical repertoire.
Richard Ingham is a composer, performer and educator. He was director of the World Saxophone Congress XVI held July 2012 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.
Andy Scott is a British tenor saxophonist, "equally at home in jazz and classical contexts", and award-winning composer who has made "important and sometimes mould-breaking contributions to the repertoire". He is currently Composer in Residence for Foden's Band. He has played with the Halle Orchestra, has formed and played with several ensembles whose musical style is rooted in big band jazz, Latin and funk.
Christian Lauba is a Tunisian-born French composer and teacher, especially noted for his compositions for saxophone. His compositions often incorporate the music of his native North Africa as well as Japanese influences. He sometimes composes under the name of Jean Matitia, particularly for jazz and rag music.
Fantasia for saxophone, three horns, and strings, W. 490, is a concertante work in three movements by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, written in 1948. A performance of it lasts approximately ten minutes.
The Sonata for E♭ Alto Saxophone and Piano, Op. 19, was composed by Paul Creston in 1939. The sonata was commissioned in the Spring by Creston's frequent collaborator, the American saxophonist Cecil Leeson, following the success of their previous work on Creston's Suite for Saxophone. By June, Creston had begun composition and presented sketches to Leeson. It was completed by the end of August and slated for publication in 1940, although this date was missed due to logistical challenges brought on by World War II.
