Felix Arndt was born on May 20, 1889, in New York City, at the heart of an America in the midst of cultural effervescence. Born into a family of German origin, he received a solid classical musical education, particularly in piano, an instrument that would become the center of his artistic expression. From an early age, Arndt distinguished himself with his clear and refined virtuosity, but also with his keen sense of showmanship, an essential quality in a country where popular music was taking on an increasingly important role in everyday life.

At the beginning of the 20th century, when ragtime and entertainment music were hugely successful, Felix Arndt established himself as one of the most popular composer-pianists among American audiences. He worked for music publishers and performed in concert halls, but also in more popular venues, where the boundary between serious music and light music was deliberately blurred. His writing is characterized by great formal clarity, a precise sense of rhythm, and a virtuosity that is always elegant, never heavy.

His most famous work, “Nola” (1915), quickly became a huge international success. This piano piece, which is brilliant, joyful, and technically demanding, perfectly embodies Arndt's style: luminous, lively music designed to appeal to both the performer and the listener. “Nola” went far beyond the realm of solo piano and was arranged for orchestra, used in films, and became a permanent fixture in the popular and light classical repertoire.

However, Felix Arndt's career was brutally cut short by World War I. Enlisted as an aviator, he died tragically on October 16, 1918, at the age of only twenty-nine. Felix Arndt is now recognized as an iconic figure in early 20th-century American piano music, a composer who combined classical virtuosity with popular spirit, leaving behind a brilliant piano repertoire that is light in appearance but deeply marked by the elegance and vitality of his era.

Along his university studies (DEA in musicology, University of Paris IV-Sorbonne), Frédéric Cellier was awarded three first prizes and a development prize at the CNR of Nice and won first prize at the International Competition of Musical Execution - soloist category – of Stresa (Italy).

He is the laureate of the Fondation de France and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and accredited teacher at the CNR of Nice, the CNR of Marseille, and at the CRR Olivier Messiaen of Avignon (France).

Frédéric Cellier is the interpreter of Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for clarinet Bb and piano with Jean-Michel Damase, Jean Françaix or Gabriel Tacchino, as well as his own arrangements for clarinet and harp of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes with the great French harpist Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, and for clarinet, piano, and string orchestra of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in blue for Wynton Marsalis or under the baton of Adrian Gershwin, grandson of the composer.

Founder and artistic director of STRADIVARIUS Editions, he is the author of light music pieces played around the world and a considerable number of arrangements of all styles and for all instruments, acclaimed by many personalities in the music world, including Michèle Auric, Jean Françaix, Adrian Gershwin, Wynton Marsalis, Yehudi Menuhin, Madeleine Milhaud, Manuel Rosenthal, Gabriel Tacchino, and Ornella Volta.

"Frédéric Cellier has produced a number of adaptations of Georges Auric's works with such talent and precision that I consider them a natural addition to his chamber music catalogue."
Michèle AURIC - Georges Auric's widow

"To Frédéric Cellier, excellent musician and tireless arranger."
Jean FRANÇAIX - Composer and pianist

"Arranging a musical work is always a delicate and risky exercise, because it requires both modifying it so that it can be played by the desired instruments and preserving its very essence. But that is exactly what Frédéric Cellier has done, preserving the nuances, subtleties and soul of the original works while breathing new life into them.
His arrangements give all the musicians the chance to perform these compositions specially revisited for their instrument, and make music lovers rediscover them in a new light."
Adrian GERSHWIN - George Gershwin’s grandson

"Congratulations for your beautiful new orchestration and rendition of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in blue."
Wynton MARSALIS - Trumpet player, composer, bandleader, general and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York

"It is outstanding that Frédéric Cellier has managed to transpose Saxophone Marmalade from the saxophone to the clarinet. I thank him for it and wish its great and deserved success. "
Manuel ROSENTHAL - Conductor, composer and Maurice Ravel’s pupil

"I am very happy to tell you how much I appreciated your transcription of the Capriccio, based on Francis Poulenc's Le Bal Masqué. It perfectly reflects the spirit and verve of the score for two pianos that I had the opportunity to play and record with Jacques Février, and it was a great pleasure for me to premiere it in Montpellier."
Gabriel TACCHINO - Pianist, Francis Poulenc’s specialist

"I must tell you that I really like your transcriptions and that I think the tone of the instruments you have chosen suits perfectly our beloved composer."
Ornella VOLTA - Musicologist, president of the Erik Satie’s Foundation