Gabriel Pierné was born on August 16, 1863, in Metz, then a border town where French and German cultures intersected. Coming from a family of musicians, he was immersed from an early age in a demanding and refined musical environment. After the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, his family moved to Paris, where Pierné entered the Conservatoire. A brilliant student, he won numerous prizes and was taught by prestigious masters such as César Franck, whose influence would have a lasting impact on his sense of form and expressive depth.

A precocious and versatile composer, Pierné quickly established himself as one of the discreet but essential figures of French musical life. His writing is distinguished by its elegance, clarity, and measured lyricism, typically French. He composed in all genres: symphonic music, choral works, chamber music, piano pieces, and ballets. His music, never excessive, seeks a balance between emotion and control, between tradition and modernity.

But Gabriel Pierné was also a major conductor. In 1910, he took over the direction of the Concerts Colonne, which he transformed into a mecca for contemporary creation. A passionate defender of the music of his time, he conducted and promoted the works of Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Roussel. Through his commitment, he played a decisive role in the renewal of the French musical landscape at the beginning of the 20th century.

A cultured, discreet, and deeply humanistic man, Pierné embodies a generation of musicians who bridged two centuries. His music, often imbued with poetry and light, reveals an artistry of detail and nuance, sensitive to atmosphere and inner emotions. It does not seek spectacular brilliance, but rather an intimate and lasting sincerity.

Gabriel Pierné died in 1937, the same year as Maurice Ravel. Long overshadowed by more famous figures, he is now being rediscovered for the finesse and richness of his work. He remains an essential figure in French music, a symbol of a measured, elegant and deeply vibrant art, where tradition is passed on with intelligence and sensitivity.

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