Mourad Tsimpou, the young piano prodigy from Marseille, has died at the age of 19

Mourad Tsimpou, a young piano prodigy known by the stage name Mourad, died Saturday at the age of 19 after a long illness, one of his managers told AFP. He succumbed on the morning of Saturday, June 29 at Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris, from a rare liver disease he had suffered from since childhood, explained Salim Lebghil, one of the two directors of 1392 Records.

Mourad’s musical history Tsimpou had started 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, even though he had never played one in his life.

He was 14, listened to an impromptu Chopin on the Internet and reproduced it while improvising. Mourad Tsimpou had “perfect pitch, he played without sheet music“, explains Salim Lebghil. The scene was captured by another patient, who posted it on social networks, sparking incredible enthusiasm.

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 The MarseillaiseHe will be buried in the Comoros where his family is from.