Martin started studying music in his hometown of Lyon before going to the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a student of Yves Nat.

[2] Martin began a teaching career, starting in Grenoble in 1953, before moving to Saint-Quentin, Bobigny, and Versailles.

He recorded two albums dedicated to the works of Carl Maria von Weber, five dedicated to Robert Schumann, two to Stephen Heller and Gabriel Fauré,[2] as well as works by Clara Schumann,[4] Johannes Brahms,[5] Benjamin Godard,[6] and Theodor Kirchner.

[8] In 1970, he played with the Trio Delta with violinist Flora Elphège and cellist Claude Burgos.

Critics noticed Martin's playing with "temperament, the richness of the sounds and the wisdom of the interpretation".