A unique story. Mourad Tsimpou, young piano prodigy known under the stage name Mourad, has died this Saturday, June 29. He was 19 years old. Since childhood, he had suffered from rare liver diseaseThis little musical genius, from the city of Castellane in the northern districts of Marseille, decided to take up the piano at the age of 13.
He played this instrument in particular during his medical appointments at the Timone hospital where he went for his illness. A piano was installed in the hall of the establishment. There, an Internet user films Mourad, interpreting an impromptu by Chopin. The video goes viral and the story gets carried away.
The pianist is contacted by André Manoukian. The latter accompanied the young prodigy on his first album. Before his death, Mourad will have managed to fulfill two of his dreams : play with the rapper Soprano, of Comorian origin like him, and perform in a packed Vélodrome stadium the anthem of Olympique de Marseille.
“The blue and white people will keep the memory of a boy who expressed like no other his love for Marseille and OM using his piano“, reacted the Marseille football club on X (ex-Twitter).
André Manoukian’s tribute on RTL
On RTL, this Saturday June 29, André Manoukian expressed his deep emotion after learning of the death of the young pianist. “He was a kid of today who, ultimately, reproduced the technique of the ancients, that is to say Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven.“, confides the former figure of the program La Nouvelle Star.
According to André Manoukian, Mourad had a “fantastic ear” and was one of “the prodigies who stand out from the crowd”. “He wanted to be both very faithful to his roots and at the same time, he felt that he was elsewhere. And then, he was quickly taken as a little hero. (…) HAS his way, he told us Chopin belongs to everyone“, emphasizes the singer-songwriter.
“A genius pianist from Marseille. His unique playing, so young, impressed and moved us all,” reacted the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan.
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