Winner of the Naxos Recording Prize at the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, Franco Platino’s debut recording, “Guitar Recital,” received rave reviews by music magazines worldwide. The American Record Guide described him as “an extremely expressive player, his virtuosity is apparent but never pushed“ and the prestigious Gramophone magazine wrote: “This is one of the finest records of guitar playing I have encountered in many years. It is of star quality in every respect”.

Platino has performed in recitals and as a guest soloist with orchestras in Europe, Canada, and Mexico, as well as throughout the United States in such venues as the Herbst Theater for San Francisco Performances and at Carnegie Hall in New York.

As a chamber musician, Platino has worked with a wide range of distinguished artists, most notably with Manuel Barrueco, with whom he toured extensively in duo throughout Europe in renowned festivals such as the Echternach Music Festival in Luxembourg; Rheingau Musik Festival in Germany; Oporto International Guitar Festival in Portugal and Cordoba International Guitar Festival in Spain. Their concerts were broadcast on radio in Germany and Italy, and in the United States they performed live on NPR’s “Performance Today.” 

Their performances were hailed as a “musical symbiosis” and Reinbeker Zeitung in Germany called their performance, “Guitar at its best”. ABC newspaper in Spain said “Virtuosity in abundance on both guitars”, and Trierisher Volksfreund in Luxembourg said their performance was: “Like four hands on one imaginary gigantic guitar, they played as though they were one man”.

The duo recorded some of the repertoire’s most spectacular and breathtaking works on a recording called “Virtuoso Guitar Duos,” released on Tonar Music. Other recordings include Platino’s performance of Robert Beaser’s Mountain Songs with flutist Susan Glaser on the Koch International was hailed by UK’s Classical Guitar Magazine as “guitar playing at its best”. In addition, he recorded Liebermann’s Sonata for Flute and Guitar with flutist Alexa Still, also for the Koch International.

A highly sought-after teacher, Franco Platino is guitar faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University as well as the Peabody Preparatory. His students regularly win top prizes at prestigious competitions. Devoted to teaching at the highest level, he has given master classes at conservatories and guitar festivals around the world. Since the early 2000’s, he has been the substitute teacher for Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory.

Born in Sardegna, Italy, Platino began to play the guitar at the age of ten. Six years later he made his debut for the Italian television station RAI, performing in a series of live broadcasts, which reached an audience in excess of eight million people. Platino went on to win top prizes in every national and international competition he entered.

A graduate with high honors from the Conservatorio Statale di Musica G. P. da Palestrina in Italy, Platino completed the Graduate Performance Diploma and the distinguished Artist Diploma programs at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University with Manuel Barrueco.