The Swiss composer of distant French descent, Frank Martin, studied music at the Dalcroze Institute in Geneva and later settled in Amsterdam.

He was a teacher of composition in Cologne and also enjoyed a career as a keyboard-player.

Martin gained international fame in music circles with his oratorio "Le vin herbé" based on the medieval story of Tristan and Iseult.

He wrote two operas, a version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" (Der Sturm) and of Molière's "Monsieur de Pourceaugnac".

Ballets include Das Märchen vom Aschenbrödel (The Story of Cinderella) and there is what is described as an oratorio/spectacle in Le mystère de la Nativité (The Mystery of the Nativity).

He provided incidental music for plays from the Oedipus trilogy of Sophocles, to Racine's Athalie and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Martin's "Petite symphonie concertante", for harpsichord, harp, piano and two string orchestras is probably the best known of his compositions.

His concertos include a somewhat astringent First Piano Concerto, a Concerto for wind instruments, percussion and strings, a Violin Concerto, a Harpsichord Concerto, a Second Piano Concerto and a Cello Concerto.

His five Ballades are also scored for solo instruments, with a small orchestra, featuring respectively, saxophone, flute, trombone or tenor saxophone and cello, with a final Ballade for viola, wind, harpsichord and harp.

Choral music includes the oratorios Golgotha and In terra pax and a cantata, Pilate, as well as a setting of the Mass and a Requiem.

His song settings range from Ronsard to Rilke.

Chamber music by Frank Martin includes a variety of music, including three of the Ballades later orchestrated, a Sonata da chiesa for viola d'amore and organ, two Violin Sonatas and a String Quartet.

Martin's piano music ranges from an Ouverture et foxtrot for two pianos to a final Fantaisie sur des rythmes flamenco (Fantasy on Flamenco Rhythms).