The saxophone has undergone a stormy development over het past few decades. Although the instrument is primarily associated with jazz and pop music, 'classic' saxophone has now been discovered by a larger public. The sax, however, still has a long way to go before it can side with the violin or the piano. A prerequisite for this is a high-quality (new) repertoire, soloists who appeal to the imagination of the listener and especially, an active and well-considered promotion of the instrument. It is striking that there is still no such thing as a 'brief history of saxophone music' recorded on compact disc, comparable with for example the registration of all Beethoven's sonatas. That is why the seven-volume series "Vintage of European Saxophone Music" has been released, which gives an (obviously subjective) outline of the music written for saxophone and piano from seven European countries. After the release of the compact disc with two fantastic new composers Rene Pieper and Kees Schoonenbeek, Paul Hermsen (piano) and I would like to follow suit in an attempt to liberate the saxophone. Hans de Jong