Hedwige Chrétien was a French composer born on July 5, 1859, in Compiègne and died on April 4, 1944, in Neuilly-sur-Seine. She was one of the most remarkable female composers of the Belle Époque and early 20th century, whose extensive body of work demonstrates both mastery and profound melodic talent.

Born into a musical family (her maternal grandfather, Jules Ternizien, was a professional violinist), she entered the Paris Conservatory at a very young age, where she brilliantly completed a full course of study: piano, harmony, counterpoint, fugue, and organ—the latter with César Franck, who praised her remarkable dedication and quick wit.

During her years of study, Chrétien won numerous prizes in several disciplines (music theory, piano, harmony, counterpoint, and fugue) and distinguished herself as a composer by winning a prize from the Société des Compositeurs de Musique in 1886 for a lyrical poem entitled L'Année—a first for a woman at that time.

After briefly teaching music theory at the Conservatory (1890–1892), she gave up academic life to devote herself entirely to composition. Chrétien then enjoyed a prolific creative career spanning more than fifty years.

Her catalog includes approximately 200 to 250 works covering a wide variety of genres: chamber music, piano pieces, orchestral works, melodies, ballets, educational pieces, organ works, and even operettas (such as Le Petit Lunch in 1904) and comedy music (notably Bécassine aux bains de mer nearly three decades later).

A musician whose style has been described as sensibly modern, Chrétien retained an aesthetic inherited from the great classical masters while exploring rich harmonies and refined melodic expressiveness. Her melodies and instrumental pieces, often performed in concert or in salons, are distinguished by their charm, balance, and a poetic sensibility characteristic of the period.

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