The young man had moved people on social networks at the age of 15 while playing at the Marseille Timone hospital.
Mourad Tsimpou, a young piano prodigy known under the stage name Mourad, died on Saturday at the age of 19 from a long illness, one of his managers announced to AFP.
He died Saturday morning at the Necker children’s hospital in Paris, following a rare liver disease from which he suffered since childhood, explained Salim Lebghil, one of the two directors of 1392 Records.
“He played without sheet music”
Mourad’s musical story began during yet another visit to the Marseille Timone hospital. Originally, like Zinedine Zidane, from the city of Castellane in the northern districts of Marseille, he discovered a piano there, having never played it in his life. He was 14, listened to an impromptu Chopin on the Internet and reproduced it while improvising. Mourad had “absolute pitch, he played without a score”, explains Salim Lebghil.
The scene was captured by another patient, who posted it on social media, sparking incredible interest.
It was the start of a whirlwind career, two albums, a third in preparation. He collaborated with André Manoukian, the rap star Soprano and for example performed during the Top 14 rugby final in 2021 playing La Marseillaise.
He will be buried in the Comoros where his family is from.
