A disclosure and contextualization of the Brussels Saxophone School between 1867 and 1904: towards a historically informed performance practice

Kurt Bertels
Promotors: Kristin Van den Buys, Norbert Nozy

The concept of Historically Informed Performance Practice (HIPP) plays a prominent role in contemporary music scene. While initially focused on Early Music, this approach is now increasingly applied to music from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Central to HIPP is the pursuit of historically aware performances, a practice that remains relatively uncommon in the field of saxophone music. This doctoral research aims to explore this underexplored area by focusing on the historically informed performance practice of the world’s first saxophone school, the Brussels Saxophone Class (1867-1904).

This research consists of three parts. The first section offers a cultural-historical context of the Brussels saxophone class through historical sources such as music periodicals and archival materials related to the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Brussels Conservatory and music life. The second part presents a critical and theoretical synthesis of current HIPP definitions and applications. This synthesis serves as a foundation to explore the underlying reasoning of HIPP practices, particularly the playing techniques within the broader international cultural context of the Brussels saxophone class. This exploration is based on historical musical sources, including music journals, instrumental methods, historical recordings, and instruments. The third part examines the HIPP-practice of Brussels solo and chamber music works for saxophone through three selected case studies: the first Brussels saxophone instructors Nazaire Beeckman and Gustave Charles Poncelet, and composer Paul Gilson. This final step connects artistic practice with theory, pushing the boundaries of traditional musicology or saxophone studies.