Martin, Frank [key], 1890–1974, Swiss composer, b. Geneva. He studied mathematics and physics at the Univ. of Geneva and studied composition and music with Joseph Lauber and Jaques-Dalcroze. Martin's music shows both Germanic and French influences, and he incorporates aspects of Schoenberg's twelve-tone system of composition without completely abandoning tonality. His vocal music often includes choruses, as in his Mass for Double Choir (1922–26), the oratorios Le Vin Herbé (1941), Golgotha (1949), and Le Mystere de la Nativite (1959), and his Requiem (1973). His only opera, Der Sturm (1956), is based on Shakespeare's Tempest. Instrumental works include both chamber and orchestral music; his best-known orchestral work is Petite Symphonie Concertante (1944–45). Martin toured throughout Europe as a pianist, harpsicordist, and conductor, and moved to the Netherlands in the mid-1940s. He founded (1926) the Chamber Music Society of Geneva and taught at the Institut Jaques-Dalcroze, the Geneva Conservatory, and the Cologne Univ. of Music.
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