Canada: Death of Quebec pianist and composer André Gagnon at the age of 84, a very great artist, writes Céline Dion on Twitter

Sylvie Claire / December 4, 2020

Quebec pianist, composer and conductor André Gagnon has died at the age of 84, his record company Audiogram announced Thursday.

He died "as a result of Lewy body disease," a neurodegenerative disease, she said in a statement.

Exceptional pianist, André Gagnon leaves behind an abundant body of work, with some fifty albums composed over five decades, as well as several musical tracks from films.

He had started composing very short pieces at the age of 6, according to local media.

He launched his career in the early 1960s as an accompanist for artists, notably with singer Georges Moustaki and big names in Quebec song, such as Claude Léveillée or Pauline Julien.

He turned to a solo career from the 1970s and performed for more than two years in France.

His album “Neiges”, released in 1975, achieved international success.

In the 1990s, he enjoyed enormous success in Japan, where he performed several times.

The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, said he was "very saddened" by his death. “Quebec is losing one of its great musicians. His melodies will continue to amaze us, ”he wrote on Twitter.