- 1957: Born in Lyon (France).
- 1965: At the age of eight, on the advice of an elementary school teacher, he was enrolled in the conservatory district of Old Lyon. When choosing an instrument, his father—a great opera lover—wanted him to play the violin. However, according to evaluation criteria (they decided he was too old to start with a string instrument), he was assigned a wind instrument, then studying saxophone under Serge Bichon.
- 1975: At eighteen, he becomes Bichon’s assistant.
- 1977: After having been part of the Lyon City Band as baritone saxophone, he gets his first full-time job as a saxophonist of the French National Police Band for a year.
- 1981: Creates the famous Adolphe Sax Quartet with saxophonists Jacques Baguet, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt and Bruno Totaro. This quartet will be responsible for the revival of the genre, with memorable performances of works by Desenclos, Denisov, Nodaira, Pierné or Schmitt.
- 1981: First release in the Claude Delangle Collection of the Parisian publisher Henry Lemoine: Arabesque III, a work by the Japanese composer Ichiro Nodaira. Henry Lemoine’s Claude Delangle Collection will continue to expand with new scores in successive years.
- 1986: He becomes the guest saxophonist of the Ensemble intercontemporain in Paris. During these years, his career as an international soloist also took off, with collaborations with some of the most important orchestras globally: BBC London, Radio France, Radio Finland, WDR Köln, Berlin Philharmonic, etc.
- 1988: After winning several first prizes at the Paris Conservatory, he was appointed professor at this institution, whose Saxophone classroom becomes a world reference.
- 1989: Founded, with Serge Bichon (then a professor at the National Conservatory of the Lyon Region) and Yves Rambaud (professor at the National School of Music in Gap), the European University of Saxophone.
- 1994: With the release of his third album, The Solitary Saxophone, he begins a long-lasting relationship with the Swedish label Bis, with whom he will release extraordinary recordings ranging from the traditional repertoire to the most contemporary works for saxophone, commissioned by himself.
- 2003: His relationship with Asia becomes stronger and stronger, coming to visit this continent up to four times in less than a year to perform concerts and recordings.
- 2017: He is named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture due to his contribution to culture.
Enjoy this interview with Claude Delangle exclusively for Sax Magazine members: “Music Is Not a Competition; It’s Just Life.”
