Luigi Boccherini was born on February 19, 1743, in Lucca, Italy, into a family of artists where music and dance played a central role. A virtuoso cellist, he received exceptional instrumental training from an early age, which made him one of the greatest masters of his instrument. This intimate relationship with the cello had a profound influence on his writing, giving his work a unique color that is at once melodious, elegant, and deeply expressive.

At a very young age, Boccherini led the life of a traveling musician, performing in Italy and then Vienna, before settling permanently in Spain. It was at the court of Madrid, in the service of the Infante Don Luis, that he found an environment conducive to creativity. Far from the great musical centers such as Vienna and Paris, he developed a personal, refined, and luminous style, in which the classicism inherited from Haydn and Mozart was tinged with discreet but noticeable Spanish influences. This peripheral position contributed to the uniqueness of his musical language, which was more intimate and less spectacular than that of his contemporaries.

Boccherini is above all a master of chamber music. He composed a considerable number of quartets, quintets, and sonatas, particularly for strings, giving the cello an unprecedented central and expressive role. His music favors clarity of form, delicate melodic lines, and an almost cheerful elegance. Even in the fast movements, the writing retains a lightness and transparency that testify to a deeply mastered art. His famous Minuet, taken from a string quintet, perfectly illustrates this classical grace, which has become emblematic far beyond the circle of lovers of classical music.

The end of his life was marked by material difficulties and relative marginalization. Isolated, living far from the major musical trends of his time, Boccherini saw his work gradually fade into obscurity. He died in Madrid on May 28, 1805, leaving behind an immense catalog that was long underestimated. However, the 19th and especially the 20th centuries rediscovered the richness and originality of his language.

Today, Luigi Boccherini is recognized as one of the great representatives of European classicism. His music, with its discreet elegance and profound sensitivity, constitutes a veritable literature of intimacy, where virtuosity is placed at the service of poetry. Through his chamber works, he offered music an art of smiles and nuance, giving voice to a singular, delicate, and enduring sound.

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