Accordionist
From musette to classical music
Born in Auvergne in 1986, Félicien discovered the accordion and the world of “musette balls” at a very young age. When he chose to start learning music at the age of 6, it was first to play the popular repertoire linked to his instrument.
In 1997, he joined the CNIMA (Centre National et International de Musique et d’Accordéon), a school where he benefited from the teaching of several professors, such as Jacques Mornet, Nathalie Boucheix, Domi Emorine, Roman Jbanov and Claude Sauvage. In 2007, he won the three biggest international accordion competitions: the Castelfidardo and Klingenthal competitions, as well as the World Accordion Trophy. He then chose to continue his training with Maryse Roux at the Pôle Supérieur de Bordeaux-Aquitaine.
Over the years, in contact with his teachers and other musicians, Félicien has discovered a wide range of repertoires, in particular classical music and chamber music, which has developed into a real passion…
A decisive encounter and a founding bet
Félicien began teaching accordion in conservatories in 2009: he started in Libourne before joining the CRD in Châteauroux in 2013, but three years later, something happened that turned his career upside down… He personally met the man he had admired most for years, the benchmark figure for his instrument: Richard Galliano. In 2016, Galliano convinced Félicien to come up with a project combining the two repertoires he loves so much, musette and classical music.
In 2017, Félicien brought “Le Pari des Bretelles” to life, surrounded by the Quatuor Hermès and double bassist Edouard Macarez. With this sextet, he tells the musical story of the many facets of his instrument. The success of the project was immediate, and Félicien’s career took a decisive turn.
From chamber music to orchestra
One concert followed another and Félicien decided to give up his teaching post. He moved to Paris and began working with some of the finest musicians of his generation, including guitarist Thibaut Garcia, trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary, cellists Anne Gastinel and Christian-Pierre La Marca, pianist Thomas Enhco and violinist Jordan Victoria. Félicien releases two albums with the Quatuor Hermès and Edouard Macarez, Le Pari des Bretelles in 2019 and NEUF in 2020, on (Mirare).
Both on record and on stage, Félicien surprises and seduces. He has been invited to perform at festivals such as La Folle Journée de Nantes, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Festival Radio France Montpellier Occitanie, the Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence, the Festival Musiq’3 de Bruxelles, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Un Violon sur le Sable…
In 2018, Félicien decided to go further and go beyond the world of chamber music to defend his instrument as a soloist in front of the orchestra, working alongside the Orchestre National Bordeaux-Aquitaine, the Orchestre Symphonique de la Garde Républicaine, the Orchestre National de Cannes, the Orchestre Symphonique de Tours… To succeed in this tour de force, he realised he needed to create a new repertoire, new music – which he keeps commissioning from today’s talented composers who make the accordion their own and pave the way for it.
From repertoire to creation
Félicien Brut’s concerts are always full of twists and turns, surprises, and anecdotes, and this is due above all to the repertoire he covers. He is a musician who does not believe in stylistic boundaries, which can be heard. From the masterpieces of romantic music to the popular accordion repertoire, from French standards to concert pieces for accordion from the Russian or Northern European schools, Félicien loves mixing eras and styles, from transcriptions to arrangements.
But the accordion is still a very young instrument in the history of classical music, and Félicien was quick to make each project an opportunity to stimulate the emergence of contemporary creations and to expand the repertoire of his instrument. He has gathered around him a group of talented composers and arrangers, including Fabien Waksman (winner of the 2023 Victoire de la Musique), Thibault Perrine, Romain Dumas, Domi Emorine, Bruno Fontaine, Thomas Enhco, Karol Beffa, Cyrille Lehn, David Venitucci… In six years, Félicien has commissioned and created no fewer than 17 new works and a multitude of arrangements, whether for chamber music (works for duo, quintet or sextet) or for accordion and symphony orchestra.
From the airwaves of France Musique to the catalog of Warner Classics/Erato
A true storyteller on stage, with a strong desire to make his instrument known better, Félicien became a producer on France Musique in September 2021. Since then, he has presented a weekly radio program called “Brut d’accordéon”.
In 2022, Félicien signed an artist’s contract with the prestigious Erato/Warner Classics label, a first for an accordionist. He has performed on the world’s finest stages and has become one of the best ambassadors for the accordion in the four corners of the globe.
He released “J’ai deux amours”, his first album for this legendary label, in October 2022.
Félicien plays a Gadji accordion designed, tuned, and maintained by Stéphanie Simon.
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