As a chamber musician he played with groups such as the Takacs, Cremona, Fine Arts and St. Petersburg String Quartets, as well as with soloists such as Domenico Nordio, Ilya Grubert, Enrico Bronzi and Giovanni Scaglione. He has a piano duo with his wife Paola Del Negro. Often invited as a juror in national and international competitions Roberto served on the juries of the Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition as well as the Cleveland International Piano Competition.
Mr. Plano’s debut recording of sonatas and rondos by Andrea Luchesi (1741-1801) on the Concerto Classics label in 2012, received 5 stars out of 5 from MUSICA magazine; in February 2013 he performed the world premiere of the composer’s two piano concertos with the Busoni Chamber Orchestra in Trieste, Italy, Massimo Belli conducting. The performance included a never-before heard cadenza written for the concerto by Mozart. Amadeus, the most widely-read music magazine in Italy, featured these events with Roberto’s photograph on the magazine’s cover. The Toledo Symphony (OH), conducted by Stefan Sanderling, and Mr. Plano gave the Luchesi concertos their North American premiere in March of 2015. In addition to 2 cds with music by Andrea Luchesi published by Concerto Classics label, he recorded also for Amadeus, Brilliant, Azica, Arktos, Sipario and Tau Records. He appeared once more on the Amadeus cover in February 2015, with a cd with music by Alexander Scriabin. In March 2016 Mr. Plano’s debut recording with DECCA Classics was released, featuring the “Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses” by Liszt, which have not been recorded by Decca since the 60’s.
In 2011 he created in Italy the Music Association “Alfred Cortot”, which he chairs, and the Accademia Musicale Varesina, with the purpose of spreading the joy of classical music in all its aspects and giving priority to the musical education of young people.
Recent events include soloist appearences with the Royal Camerata at the Athenauem Theater in Bucarest (Romania) and with the Boston Civic Symphony at Regis College, and recitals and chamber music concerts at the Stellenbosh Symposium, Sudafrica, at the Yamaha Center, Taiwan, at Vivace Vilnius Festival in Lituania, Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain and at the Boston Athenauem in USA.
A recital at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts in St. Paul. MN, for the Frederic Chopin Society was marked by the Saint Paul Pioneer Press critic Ron Hubbard describing his performance among the top ten events of the year. Mr. Plano has been described by The Chronicle in Glens Falls, NY, as the “Pavarotti of the Piano” for his lyricism, and also defined by the Chicago radio commentator Paul Harvey as the heir of Rubinstein and Horowitz.NY Times music critic Anthony Tommasini has written: “This Italian pianist showed artistic maturity beyond his years… there was a wonderful clarity and control of inner voices in his performances…”
In January 2018 the American Prize Competition announced that Mr. Plano won 1st Prize in the solo professional division.
After joining in 2016 the Faculty of Boston University, in 2018 he has been appointed Associate Professor of Piano at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. One of the most sought-after teachers in the world, Mr. Plano also regularly teaches during the summer at Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival and at Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival.
Since 2023 he is Professor of Piano and Chair of School of Keyboard Studies at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland) and International Visiting Professor of Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (UK).
Fequently invited in international juries around the world, last season he was a member of the Jury, among others, of the Seoul International Music Competition, the Van Cliburn Competition (Screening Jury) and the Honens International Piano Competition (Final Jury). In 2027 he will be a member of the Final Jury of the Montreal International Piano Competition
