clarinets came into the orchestra at the end of the 18th century, and trombones at the beginning of the 19th century. orchestras were still quite small, though. the saxophone was invented in the middle of the 19th century, but although they started to use it in orchestras, it soon became an instrument that was used in wind bands and later jazz bands. the opera composer richard wagner made the orchestra much bigger because he kept asking for extra instruments. he asked for a bass clarinet in his opera "lohengrin", and for his cycle of four operas called "the ring of the nibelung" he asked for an exact number of players: 16 first violins, 16 second violins, 12 violas, 12 cellos, 8 double basses, 3 flutes and piccolo, 3 oboes and cor anglais, 3 clarinets and bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 3 trumpets and bass trumpet, 3 tenor trombones and a double bass trombone, 8 horns with 4 of them playing a specially designed tuba, a bass tuba, percussion, and 6 harps.