Robert Plano

Acclaimed for the lyricism, elegance, and expressive depth of his performances, Italian pianist Roberto Plano enjoys an international career as a recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has appeared at many of the world's leading concert halls, including Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris, Sala Verdi in Milan, and Munich's Herkulessaal, and has performed with major orchestras throughout North America and Europe under such distinguished conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, James Conlon, Pinchas Zukerman, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

A frequent guest at leading festivals, Mr. Plano has appeared at the Newport Classical Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Portland Piano Festival, Bologna Festival, and the Chopin Festival in Poland. An accomplished chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Takács, Cremona, Fine Arts, Jupiter, Muir, and St. Petersburg Quartets, as well as many internationally recognized string players, and regularly performs in duo with his wife, pianist Paola Del Negro.

Mr. Plano first gained international recognition by winning First Prize at the 2001 Cleveland International Piano Competition. He has also been a prizewinner at the Honens, Dublin, Sendai, Géza Anda, and Valencia International Piano Competitions, was a finalist at both the Van Cliburn and Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competitions, and received the American Prize in Piano Performance in 2018.

His extensive discography includes more than twenty recordings for Brilliant Classics, Azica, Da Vinci Classics, and other labels, many of which have received top honors from leading music publications. His recent recordings have included acclaimed world-premiere works by the eighteenth-century Italian composer Andrea Luchesi, as well as his debut recording for Decca Classics featuring Liszt's Harmonies poétiques et religieuses. He has also given the modern premieres of Luchesi's piano concertos in both Europe and the United States.

Praised by Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times for his "wonderful clarity and control of inner voices," Roberto Plano has also been described by The Chronicle as the "Pavarotti of the Piano" and by broadcaster Paul Harvey Jr. as "the heir to Rubinstein and Horowitz." His engaging artistry has also made him a frequent guest on NPR's Performance Today.

Equally respected as a pedagogue, Mr. Plano has taught at Boston University and Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. He currently serves as Professor of Piano and Chair of Keyboard Studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland, and as International Visiting Professor of Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. A sought-after master teacher and adjudicator, he regularly serves on the juries of the world's leading international piano competitions, including the Honens, Seoul, Van Cliburn, Montréal, and Telekom Beethoven competitions.