CD cover of recordings of Martin's cello and violin concertos.

Frank Martin (September 15, 1890 – November 21, 1974) was a Swiss composer, who lived a large part of his life in the Netherlands. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ...

Life

He was born in Geneva, the tenth and last child of Charles Martin, a Calvinist pastor. Before he started school, he was already playing the piano and improvising. At nine, he was composing complete, fully formed songs, without having had any instruction in song forms or harmony. A performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion which he heard at the age of twelve left upon him an ineradicable impression, and Bach became his true master. Hunters a cool hobo For other uses, see Geneva (disambiguation). ... In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ... Places in which Bach resided throughout his life Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced ) (21 March 1685 O.S. – 28 July 1750 N.S.) was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought... Several composers have written St. ...

He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Geneva for two years, working on composition and studying piano with Joseph Lauber on the side. From 1918 to 1926, he lived in Zürich, Rome, and Paris. The compositions of this period show him searching for his own musical language. The University of Geneva (Université de Genève) is one of the oldest universities in the world. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... View of the inner city with the four main churches visible, and the Albis in the backdrop Zürich (German: , Zürich German: Züri , French: , in English generally Zurich, Italian: ) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

In 1926, he founded the Société de Musique de Chambre de Genève, which he directed as pianist and harpsichordist for ten years. During this time, he also taught theory and improvisation at the Jaques-Dalcroze Institute and chamber music at the Geneva Conservatoire. Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (July 6, 1865 - July 1, 1950), was a Swiss musician and educator who developed Eurhythmics, a method of learning and experiencing music through movement. ...

He was director of the Technicum Moderne de Musique from 1933 to 1940 and president of the Association of Swiss Musicians from 1942 to 1946. Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

He moved to the Netherlands in 1946 to find more time for his composing than he could obtain while in Switzerland, where he was involved in too many other activities. For ten years he lived in Amsterdam, and finally settled in Naarden. Amsterdam Location Flag Country Netherlands Province North Holland Population 741,329 (1 August 2006) Agglomeration - 1. ... Naarden is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ...

From 1950 to 1957, he taught composition at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. After 1957, he renounced teaching and concentrated on his composition; for the rest of his life he confined his public performing appearances to occasional chamber music tours and conducting his own works. Having kept up his high pianistic standards, he made a few studio recordings in his old age. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Works

The Petite Symphonie Concertante (which made Martin's international reputation) is the best known of his orchestral works, as the early Mass is of his choral compositions and the Jedermann monologues (for baritone and piano or orchestra) of his works for solo voice. Other Martin pieces include a full-scale symphony (1936 - 1937), two piano concertos, a harpsichord concerto, a violin concerto, a cello concerto, a concerto for seven wind instruments, and a series of six one-movement works he called "ballades" for various solo instruments with piano or orchestra. Among a dozen major scores for the theater are operatic settings of Shakespeare (The Tempest, in Schlegel's German version [1952 - 1955]) and Molière (Monsieur de Pourceaugnac [1960 - 1962]), and the satirical fairy tale La Nique à Satan (Thumbing Your Nose at Satan [1928 - 1931]). His works on sacred texts and subjects, which include another large-scale theater piece, Le Mystère de la Nativité (The Mystery of the Nativity [1957 / 1959]) are widely considered to rank among the finest religious compositions of the 20th century. Fellow Swiss musician Ernest Ansermet, a champion of his music from 1918 on, conducted recordings of many of Martin's works, as did the composer himself. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A piano concerto is a concerto for solo piano and orchestra. ... A harpsichord concerto is a concerto for harpsichord and orchestra. ... A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. ... A violoncello concerto (commonly called a cello concerto) is a concerto for solo violoncello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. ... Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (November 11, 1883 – February 20, 1969) was a Swiss conductor. ...

Martin developed his mature style based on a very personal use of Arnold Schoenberg's twelve tone technique, having become interested in this around 1932, but did not abandon tonality. In fact his preference for lean textures and his habitual rhythmic vehemence are at the furthest possible remove from Schoenberg's hyperromanticism. Some of Martin's most inspired music comes from his eighties; he worked on his last cantata, Et la Vie l'Emporta, until ten days before his death. He died in Naarden, The Netherlands. Schoenberg redirects here. ... Twelve-tone technique is a system of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a key center or tonic. ... Naarden is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. ...

Principal Works

• Mass for unaccompanied double choir (1922 - 1924 / 1926)
• Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises (1925)
• Quatre pièces brèves for guitar (1933)
• Le vin herbé (1938 / 1940 - 1941)
• Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke (Der Cornet) (1942 - 1943)
• Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann (1943 - 1944)
• Petite symphonie concertante (1944 - 1945)
• In terra pax (1944)
• Eight Preludes for Piano (1947 - 1948)
• Golgotha (1945 - 1948)
• Concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, and strings (1949)
• Songs of Ariel (1950)
• Requiem (1971 - 1972)
• Polyptyque, for violin and two small string orchestras (1973)

The Petite symphonie concertante is a work of the Swiss composer Frank Martin, which is one of the few post-classical-era examples of the pure sinfonia concertante genre. ...

External link

• The Frank Martin society