Adolphe Sax was born in Dinant, Belgium, on November 6, 1814, and was the eldest son of Charles-Joseph Sax (1791-1865), an instrument maker and owner of a wind instrument factory in Brussels. Father Sax was also a supplier to the House of Orange during the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

*The exact location where Adolphe Sax was born is now the “La Maison de Monsieur SAX” experience center, which can be visited.

Adolphe Sax began his musical education in 1828 at the Brussels Royal Music School. In addition to this general education, he also took clarinet lessons. He participated in a clarinet competition at the age of 15.

His first experiments were with the bass clarinet: he developed a new 24-key system, which he demonstrated at the Brussels Industrial Exhibition of 1835 and later patented. Afterward, Adolphe Sax worked on plans for a series of new instruments. At the 1840 exhibition, he presented 9 inventions, including an organ, a piano-tuning process, and a sound reflection screen.

At the Brussels Industrial Exhibition of 1841, Adolphe Sax presented his own creation to the public for the first time: the saxophone!

Lieutenant-General Count De Rumigny wanted Adolphe Sax to provide the French army with better instruments. Adolphe Sax made a quick decision to move to Paris, the then capital of music in Europe.