Georges Moustaki

Georges Moustaki (actually Giuseppe Mustacchi; May 3, 1934 in Alexandria, Egypt; † May 23, 2013 in Nice, France) was a French singer, composer and lyricist.

Life

Moustaki, was born as the son of Sephardic Jewish- Greek bookseller Nissim Mustacchi and his wife Sara in Alexandria, Egypt. Located in the cosmopolitan climate of this city, he learned Greek in addition to his native Italian, Arabic and French. Due to the affinity of his parents to the French culture Moustaki attended a French school, where he received his first contact with the French chanson. The concerts with his parents left a lasting impression on him. After finishing school he went to Paris in 1951. During this time he began to write songs first. He met Georges Brassens whose encouragement was crucial to opt for a career as a musician. As a tribute to Brassens Georges Moustaki chose the name for his pseudonym. In 1958, he met Edith Piaf, another idol of his youth to know, and started with the 18-year old woman has a brief love affair. For them he wrote the lyrics for the successful Chanson to music by Marguerite Monnot Milord.

Georges Moustaki died on May 23, 2013 Nice on a lung disease from which he had suffered for several years. Because of this illness, he had retired from the stage in 2009, after he had to cancel his last concert in Barcelona. His grave is located at the Paris Père Lachaise Cemetery (division 95).

Works

In the 1960s, Moustaki wrote as a musician, songwriter and poet numerous songs for the most known artists of this genre: Édith Piaf, Barbara, Serge Reggiani, Dalida, Yves Montand, Juliette Greco and Henri Salvador. In the late 1960s, he worked closely with the French singer Barbara and went with her on tour together. As Barbara ill during a guest performance, he gave his first solo concert in 1968 and began his career as a chanson singer.

Moustaki ended his singing career for health reasons in 2009. Till then he was regularly singing tours and traveling in Germany as a guest. Among his most famous songs include Ma liberté, Le Meteque, Ma solitude, En Mediterranée, Hiroshima and Nadjejda.

With his peers friend Siegfried Meir, a native of Frankfurt, who had been deported the age of seven to the concentration camp Auschwitz, Moustaki wrote the book Son of the Mist. Jewish memories, in which both reflect their various lives as Jews from Alexandria and Germany.

Georges Moustaki 1998 played the role of the Abbé Faria alongside Gérard Depardieu in the television film The Count of Monte Cristo.

Awards

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