Accordionist
From musette to classical music
Born in Auvergne in 1986, Félicien discovered the accordion at a very young age. When he began learning music at the age of six, it was primarily to play a popular repertoire intrinsically linked to the instrument: the music of musette balls. In 1997, he joined the CNIMA-Jacques Mornet, an accordion school where he studied under many renowned teachers. In 2007, Félicien won three of the most prestigious international accordion competitions: the Castelfidardo, Klingenthal, and the World Accordion Trophy. He then chose to further his education at the Bordeaux-Aquitaine Conservatoire. Over the years, Félicien explored a wide variety of repertoires, particularly classical music, which became a true passion for him.
A decisive encounter and a foundational bet
In 2009, Félicien began teaching accordion in various conservatories, but an event changed the course of his career: he met Richard Galliano, the person he admired most. In 2016, Galliano encouraged Félicien to imagine a project blending the two repertoires he loved so much: musette and classical music.
In 2017, Félicien brought Le Pari des Bretelles to life, collaborating with the Hermès Quartet and double-bassist Edouard Macarez. With this sextet, he musically narrates the history of his instrument. The project was an immediate success, marking a decisive turning point in Félicien’s career.
From chamber music to orchestras
Félicien went on to collaborate with some of the most brilliant musicians of his generation, including trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary, guitarist Thibaut Garcia, cellists Astrig Siranossian and Christian-Pierre La Marca, clarinetist Joë Christophe, and pianist Thomas Enhco. He has been invited to prestigious festivals and such as the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Radio France Montpellier Occitanie Festival, the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, the Musiq’3 Festival in Brussels, La Folle Journée in Nantes, the Flâneries Musicales in Reims, Un Violon sur le Sable in Royan, the PAAX GNP Festival in Mexico, the Rheingau Musik Festival in Germany, the Philharmonie de Paris.
Starting in 2018, Félicien decided to go even further, moving beyond the realm of chamber music to promote his instrument as a soloist alongside orchestras. He has performed with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, the French Republican Guard Orchestras, the Orchestre National de Cannes, and the Tours Symphony Orchestra, among others. To achieve this, Félicien did commission a new repertoire.
From repertoire to creation
Félicien Brut’s concerts are always full of twists, surprises, and anecdotes, largely thanks to the repertoire he performs. From masterpieces of romantic music to the popular accordion repertoire, from French chanson standards to concert accordion works from Russian and Northern European schools, Félicien is a musician who refuses to be confined by stylistic boundaries.
As the accordion is still a relatively young instrument in the history of classical music, Félicien quickly turned every project into an opportunity to stimulate contemporary creation and expand the repertoire of the “piano with straps.” He has brought together a collective of talented composers and arrangers, including Fabien Waksman (2023 Victoires de la Musique laureate), Thibault Perrine, Romain Dumas, Domi Emorine, Bruno Fontaine, Thomas Enhco, Karol Beffa, Cyrille Lehn, David Venitucci… In just six years, Félicien has commissioned and premiered no fewer than 20 new works and numerous arrangements, either for chamber music or symphonic music.
From France Musique to the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony
A true storyteller on stage, driven by a strong desire to raise awareness of his instrument, Félicien became a producer on France Musique radio in September 2021. For three seasons, he hosted a weekly show named Brut d’accordéon.
In 2022, Félicien began working with the legendary Erato/Warner Classics label, a first for an accordionist. He released his fourth album, J’ai deux amours, under this iconic label and recently his 5th opus Préludes, Valses et Envols.
Having become an indispensable ambassador for his instrument across the globe, Félicien was recently invited by Thomas Jolly to participate in the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. On July 26th, 2024, he was the first French artist to appear on screens worldwide, seated atop the Pont d’Austerlitz with his accordion in hand.
Félicien plays a Bayan Gadji accordion, designed, tuned, and maintained by Stéphanie Simon.
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Photo credit: Mathias Nicolas