Béla Bartók was born on March 25, 1881, in Nagyszentmiklós, then part of Hungary (now Sânnicolau Mare, Romania). Born into a cultured family, he showed remarkable musical talent at an early age and began learning piano and composition. Fascinated by Central European folklore, Bartók undertook systematic ethnomusicological research, collecting and transcribing folk songs he heard in villages, which profoundly influenced his music.

After studying at the Royal Conservatory in Budapest, he made a name for himself as a virtuoso pianist and composer, performing his own works and those of contemporary composers. His music is characterized by the fusion of folk language with classical and modern techniques, including counterpoint, ancient modes, and the asymmetrical rhythms of popular music.

Bartók composed in all genres: chamber music, solo piano, orchestra, operas, and vocal works. Among his major works are the Six String Quartets, the Hungarian Rhapsodies, the Concertos for Orchestra, the Mikrokosmos (for piano, a progressive series of pedagogical studies), and the opera Bluebeard's Castle. His style combines rhythmic complexity, harmonic richness, and intense expressiveness, while drawing inspiration from the folk traditions of Central Europe.

At the same time, Bartók was heavily involved in teaching and promoting modern music. His life was turned upside down by the rise of Nazism: in 1940, he went into exile in the United States to escape the Nazi regime and the war, where he continued to compose despite difficult living conditions and declining health.

Béla Bartók died on September 26, 1945, in New York, leaving behind a monumental legacy. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century, a pioneer in the integration of folk music into the language of classical music and an innovator in harmony, rhythm, and musical structure.

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