In May 1799, Countess Anna von Brunsvik took her daughters Thérèse and Joséphine to Vienna to ask Beethoven to give them piano lessons. She particularly admired the music of the composer, who by the 1790s had also established himself as one of the leading pianists in the Austrian capital.

It seems that from this first meeting, an impossible love was born between Joséphine (1779-1821) and Beethoven. The likely recipient of the mysterious ‘Letter to the Immortal Beloved’, she was undoubtedly the most important woman in his life, as evidenced by at least 15 love letters in which he called her his ‘only beloved’, being ‘eternally devoted’ and ‘eternally faithful’. For her part, Joséphine wrote to him: ‘My soul, which was already enthusiastic about you before I got to know you personally, has been nourished by your affection. A deep and inexpressible feeling made me love you; even before knowing you, your music made me enthusiastic about you. The kindness of your character and your affection have increased it.’

However, Joséphine was given in marriage to the elderly Count Joseph Deym von Stritetž (1752-1804), as her mother wanted a son-in-law of equal social status.

Beethoven was to frequent the couple assiduously, continuing his piano lessons with Joséphine and even becoming close to the Count. The Count founded and ran an art gallery, the Müllerische Kunstcabinet, which was one of the curiosities of Vienna and housed a collection of wax portraits, plaster copies of classical works of art and various objects, including musical clocks. At the time, Vienna was one of the main centres for the production of mechanical instruments, and these small organs were a common sight in castles, large restaurants and theatres. These are clocks associated with small mechanical organs that play automatically every hour or half-hour.

Beethoven composed three pieces for them in 1799, probably in response to a commission from the count to whom they were dedicated. The first of these, the most inspired and developed of the three, is our Adagio Assai WoO 33.

Our new version for duet with piano or audio accompaniment (Backing Track) saves it from unjust oblivion and allows you to hear and appreciate all its beauty, which until now has remained enclosed in its metal gangue.

NB: A chamber version for soloist and string trio (violin, viola, cello) or audio accompaniment track is also available from STRADIVARIUS Editions by the same arranger.

Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany. Born into a family of musicians, he received a strict musical education from his father, Johann van Beethoven, from an early age and showed exceptional talent for piano and composition at a very young age. His genius was evident from his teenage years through his improvisations and early works.

In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he studied with Joseph Haydn and befriended other influential musicians. He quickly made a name for himself as a virtuoso pianist and innovative composer. He revolutionized the music of his time, particularly through his piano sonatas, string quartets, concertos, and symphonies, combining the classical rigor inherited from Mozart and Haydn with a romantic expressiveness that was unprecedented at the time.

Among his major works are Symphonies Nos. 3, 5, and 6, No. 9, the “Moonlight” Sonata, Piano Concertos No. 4 and No. 5, and the late string quartets. Beethoven is renowned for his ability to express deep and universal emotions, his mastery of counterpoint and harmony, and his structural and formal innovations in all the musical genres he tackled.


A significant event in his life was his gradual deafness, which began around the age of 28. Despite this difficulty, he continued to compose some of his most daring and innovative works, including Symphony No. 9, which he conducted while almost completely deaf.

Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna, leaving behind a monumental legacy. His music not only marked the transition from classicism to romanticism, but continues to profoundly influence musical composition and performance to this day.

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