Sigurd Manfred Rascher, known worldwide for the development of the classical saxophone, was born in Elberfeld, Germany on 15-May-1907 and died in Shushan, NY on 25-Feb-2001.
Growing up in Germany, he learned piano and clarinet under well-known European masters. Soon, Sigurd started to play saxophone because he wanted to join a dance band.
In the 1930s he performed with the Berlin Philharmonic. As Hitler rose to power, Sigurd moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he taught at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music. He performed in Sweden, Norway, Italy, Spain, Poland, England and Hungary.
In 1939 he moved to the U.S. where he was the featured soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.
On 4-Nov-1941 Sigurd and his wife Ann Mari established their home on a small farm in Shushan where they lived for nearly 60 years.
Rascher went on to perform as soloist with more than 250 orchestras and wind ensembles worldwide, including concerts in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada and the United States.
His last saxophone solo performance was playing the Glazunov concerto for saxophone and string orchestra with the Vermont Symphony in 1977, on the eve of his 70th birthday … but here are photos from his LAST concert at the 1982 Shushan Carnival
After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1994, Rascher died in 2001 at age 93 in Shushan, New York.
The Sigurd Rascher Special Collections Archive is currently held at the State University of New York at Fredonia.
