French schoolboy pianist given piano after viral video
A 14-year-old French piano prodigy from a deprived area of Marseille has been gifted a free piano after a video of him playing in public was posted online.
Mourad Tsimpo, who lives in the council estate area of la cit茅 de la Castellane (Bouches-du-Rh么ne, Provence-Alpes-C么te d'Azur), is a young pianist who says he mainly learned to play 鈥渂y ear, by instinct鈥�.
At least twice a week, he has been honing his playing skills on a public-access piano in the corridors of the Marseille Timone hospital - and any other public pianos he can find.
He sometimes plays for up to seven hours at a time, .
But after a video of Mr Tsimpo playing in public was posted online (below, by Marseille local and ), it was seen by the owner of a local music shop, 脡ric Scotto.
In response, Mr Scotto decided to give the teenager his very own piano for free, to enable him to practice even more.
Mr Scotto said: 鈥淣ow, we need to give him - and that is why we are here - the tools so that he can practice...because talent without work is nothing.鈥�
Despite reaching a prodigious playing ability at a young age - including pieces by composers such as Chopin and Beethoven - Mr Tsimpou still describes himself 鈥渁s a beginner鈥�.
His father explained to the press that the boy鈥檚 musical ability was apparent from a young age. Before he played piano, he sang, and progressed musically thanks to his music teacher at school.
Mr Tsimpou now says that he would like to become a music teacher himself.
