Welcome to the Frank Martin site!
This site gives you information about the Swiss composer, Frank Martin (1890-1974).
The site, intended primarily for musicians, musicologists and concert organizers, contains a concise biography and lists of works selected by genre (specifying instrumentation, duration, year of composition and the publisher of each work.).
Music lovers will be interested by the information about the "Société Frank Martin" (including CDs and books available), the information about the "Frank Martin House" in Naarden (The Netherlands) and the large collection of photographs (classified according to different topics).
Also there is the possibility of communicating with the composer's widow, Maria Martin, by mail or E-mail (see "Information").
The site was set up by Maria Martin, Frank le Coultre (the composer's grandson) and Ferry Jongbloed (responsible for the "Frank Martin House"), under the auspices of the "Société Frank Martin".
| To introduce the composer to you here are some quotations regarding him, as expressed by some important musicians: |
| « When I play the "Polyptyque" by Frank Martin I feel the same responsibility, the same exaltation as when I play Bach's Chaconne. » |
| Yehudi Menuhin |
| « His work stands like a rock and upholds credence in the future of music. » |
| Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau |
| « Frank Martin had the courage to tackle face on the problem [...] of musical language possible in our time in all its generality and transcendence. That is why, once achieved, his feat is of universal consequence. » |
| Ernest Ansermet |
| « Many great works of this century are admired; few have the privilege of being loved. Frank Martin created works which are both admired and loved. » |
| Paul Badura-Skoda |
| « Frank Martin has always belonged to the elite of the musical world due solely to his creative genius, nurtured by the silent meditation in his work and by the fervour of his faith. » |
| Pierre Fournier |