Lucien Martin (30 May 1908 – 29 October 1950) was a Canadian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Only one of his compositions was published, the art song ''La Chanson des belles'', which was performed by Jeanne Desjardins in its premiere on the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

program ''Sérénade pour cordes''.

Life and career

Born in Montreal, Martin was the son of violinist and string-instrument maker Cyrice Martin. He began his musical training with his father before entering the Conservatoire national de musique at the age of 7. He excelled at the school and earned a gold meld just a couple years later. He was named "the champion young violinist of the world" by the American press after a triumphant concert at the Central Theater in

Biddeford, Maine Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddef ...

in 1916. Martin continued his violin studies in Montreal with

Albert Chamberland Albert Chamberland (12 October 1886 – 4 April 1975) was a Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, music producer, and music educator. As a violinist he performed as a chamber musician with a number of ensembles, including the Beethoven Tr ...

(1917–1920),

Alfred De Sève Alfred De Sève (May or June 1858 – 25 November 1927) was a Canadian violinist, composer, and music educator. His compositional output includes works for violin and piano, solo piano, and orchestra; many of which were published by Arthur P. Sc ...

(1920–1923), and Camille Couture (1923–1925). He also studied

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

with

Georges-Émile Tanguay Georges-Émile Tanguay (5 June 1893 – 24 November 1964) was a Canadian composer, organist, pianist, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his compositional output is relatively small; consisting of 4 orchestral wor ...

. From 1925–1928 he toured the United States as a concert and recital violinist. He won the

Prix d'Europe The Prix d'Europe () is a Canadian study grant that is funded by the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec of the Government of Quebec. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition ...

in 1931 which enabled him to pursue further studies in France at the

École Normale de Musique de Paris The École Normale de Musique de Paris "Alfred Cortot" (ENMP) is a leading conservatoire located in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. The school was founded in 1919 by Auguste Mangeot and Alfred Cortot. The term ''école normale'' (English: no ...

with Maurice Hayot. He earned a 'licence de concert' from the school in 1933. In July 1933 Martin returned to his native city. He was an active recitalist in Montreal and also appeared numerous times as a soloist on the radio during the 1930s and 1940s. He played in the first violin section of the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

and was notably the featured soloist in the orchestra's second concert on 4 February 1935 in a performance of

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...

's '' Violin Concerto No. 1''. ''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'' said in its review of his performance that he played with a "passionate interpretation and confident technique." In 1936 Martin returned to Paris where he worked with

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

. He returned to Montreal the following year to become the second violinist in the Dubois String Quartet with whom he played for one season. He also frequently played for radio programs on

CKAC CKAC is a Canadian French, French-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Cogeco, the station operates as a commercial travelers' information station, traffic information service branded as ''Radio Circulation 730''. ...

and on the

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program '' Les Joyeux Troubadours'' during the late 1930s. During the 1940s he conducted a number of public concerts. He died in 1950 in Montreal at the age of 42.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Lucien 1908 births 1950 deaths Canadian male composers Canadian male conductors (music) Canadian male classical violinists Conservatoire national de musique alumni École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Musicians from Montreal 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian classical violinists 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers Players of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra