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 instrumental quartet makes it possible to save it from unjust oblivion and to hear and appreciate all its beauty, hitherto enclosed in its metal gangue.

NB: A version in duet with piano or audio accompaniment (Backing Track) is also available by the same arranger from STRADIVARIUS Editions.

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, but also performs his own version 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 pieces of light music and a considerable number of arrangements in all styles and for all instruments acclaimed by numerous personalities in the music world:

"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