Martino Frontini

Martino Frontini (Catania, 1827 – Catania, 1909) was an Italian composer and writer who worked with many Catanian musicians in the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the father, and first teacher, of composer Francesco Paolo Frontini. He founded the town band, which he led for thirty years; he also directed the band of the regional hospital during his career. He composed numerous works, becoming especially known for his waltzes; in larger forms, he wrote a three-act lyric opera (Marco Bozzari), an "azione coreografica" (Fatima) and a fantastic operetta (La Rivolta dell'Olimpo). As a writer he published a biography of Pietro Antonio Coppola in 1876. He died in Catania in 1909.