: Why are saxophones not commonly included in orchestras?
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Lots of good answers here. Also, aside from the soprano saxophone which blends well with oboes (it can sometimes overpower the oboe if you aren’t careful) the other saxophones generally have a distinct and louder sound that is hard to blend with traditional orchestras. (Can sometimes blend with the horns decently) While a good musician can blend the saxophone sound into an orchestra, it can be difficult. Also because of many factors, many composers don’t have experience writing for saxophones, so they don’t quite know how to incorporate them properly in an orchestra setting except when used as a solo instrument or as a jazzy style insert. I have played many new compositions with student and aspiring composers and they don’t have a lot of resources or examples to emulate or learn from when incorporating saxophone into an orchestra or small ensemble. (This problem is not unique to saxophones. Many composers will do better writing for instruments with which they have more familiarity.)
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