Sigurd Raschèr (1907-2001), born in Germany and emigrated to America just before the Second World War, is one of the most important pioneers and one of the most influential classical saxophonists of the 20th century. He built an international career as a soloist and encouraged many contemporary composers to write works for saxophone especially for him. In this way, he expanded the saxophone repertoire considerably. Also as a pedagogue he developed a tradition that he passed on to his students, in this context we can really speak of a 'school'. The saxophone quartet that he started in 1969, still exists: the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet. The PhD- student has been a member since 2014. On a technical level, Sigurd Raschèr extended the tone range of the saxophone by more than an octave. These are the so-called 'Top-tones'.
This dissertation wants to contextualize and critically map Raschèr's influence within the discipline of the classical saxophone. First of all, the definition of the Raschèr tradition is examined. According to Raschèr himself, his tradition is based on Adolphe Sax (1814-1894), the Belgian inventor of the saxophone. This link between Raschèr and Sax is critically examined in terms of the construction and sound of the instruments. Raschèr himself did not play an original saxophone, but an instrument from the American firm of Ferdinand Buescher (1861-1937). Raschèr stimulated the firm to make an instrument that could realize his ideal sound. The dissertation also explores the history of the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet.
Because this is an artistic PhD, there is also an artistic result. New compositions for tenor saxophone and piano, performed on a Buescher tenor from the 1930s, were recorded on a CD. In addition, compositions from the early days of the saxophone from the Edition Sax were recorded on an original 19th century Adolphe Sax saxophone with the original mouthpiece.