Adolphe Sax

Adolphe Sax, whose real name was Antoine-Joseph Sax, was born November 6, 1814 in Dinant (Belgium) and died February 4, 1894 in Paris (France).

Sax grew up in a belgian family of wind instrument makers and most of his time he spent in his fathers workshop. He was an ambitious student and developed his own clarinets in early years. Moreover, Sax was a gifted musician on his instruments, numerous pieces were written for him, that nobody else was able to play because they were too hard.

When he invented the saxophone in 1840 and it wasn't vallued in Brussels, he left for Paris in 1842. He refused offers from London and other european cities.

Sax became the first saxophone teacher at the Paris Conservatoire in 1858, but due to financial problems the studio was suspended in 1871. Seventy-one years passed before the next saxophone studio reopend under Marcel Mule in 1942.

From 1858 to his death Sax was director of the Stage Band at the Opera in Paris.