Georges Bizet was born on October 25, 1838, in Paris, into a family of musicians: his father was a singing teacher at the Conservatory, and his mother was a pianist. Bizet showed exceptional talent for music at an early age and entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of nine, where he studied piano, organ, and composition. A brilliant student, he won several prestigious prizes, including the Grand Prix de Rome in 1857, which enabled him to spend several years studying in Italy and familiarizing himself with European musical traditions.

Upon his return to Paris, Bizet devoted himself to composition, working in the fields of symphonic, operatic, and piano music. His style is characterized by inventive harmony, expressive melodies, and a keen sense of musical drama. Among his most famous works are the opera Carmen, premiered in 1875 and now considered one of the masterpieces of French opera, as well as the Symphony in C (1855) and works for piano and orchestra.

Although Carmen received mixed reviews when it premiered, its posthumous success has been immense, and it remains an essential reference in the world of opera. Bizet is also known for his stage music, including L'Arlésienne, and his melodies, which reveal his sense of rhythm, orchestral color, and dramatic nuance.

His life was marked by creative intensity, but also by personal difficulties and poor health. Georges Bizet died prematurely in Paris on June 3, 1875, at the age of 36, just a few months after the premiere of Carmen. Despite his short life, he left behind a considerable legacy, and his influence on French and international opera music remains profound. His work combines melodic elegance, dramatic intensity, and orchestral mastery, making him one of the most famous composers of the 19th century.

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