Franco Platino began playing 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. Since then, Franco Platino won top prizes in every national and international competition he entered, and received the particular honor of winning the Naxos Recording Prize at the 1997 Guitar Foundation of America International Competition. He graduated high honors from the Conservatorio Statale di Musica G. P. da Palestrina in Italy. He also graduated from the Graduate Performance Diploma and the distinguished Artist Diploma programs at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, MD, where he studied under the guidance of world renowned guitarist Manuel Barrueco.

His expressive and virtuosic performances and recordings have won high praise worldwide by critics and audiences alike. His "performances [are] absolutely on focus, unquestionably professional in the impeccable cascades of notes discharged with complete ease and clarity", according to Italy's Seicorde Magazine. The American Record Guide said, "Platino has a beautiful sound and plays with crisp articulation and sensitive phrasing. An extremely expressive player, his virtuosity is apparent but never pushed."

Franco Platino's performances have taken him to concert halls throughout the Americas and Europe, appearing in Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Luxembourg, Germany, Mexico and the United States. Highlights of his extensive U.S. appearances include performances in New York (Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall), Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Columbus, New Orleans, St. Louis, Dallas, Austin, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Memphis, Philadelphia, Boston, Hartford, Cincinnati, and San Francisco (Herbst Theatre).

He has also performed throughout Europe in duo with his maestro and mentor Manuel Barrueco, receiving enthusiastic reviews. Of one concert in Spain, the Diario Cordoba said, "Truly a fruitful collaboration between these artists, resulting in the biggest instrumental cohesion, an absolute sound control, and above all, a pure musical identification, reached after a conscientious study of textures, phrasing..." La Cronica of Cordoba remarked, "…both Barrueco and Platino gave a sample of their perfect technique, their pure style and their mutual understanding, which brought about a personal and musical symbiosis on a small stage, which, far from great pretenses, gave way to a warm and intimate atmosphere." Their concerts were broadcast on radio in Germany and in Italy, and in the US, they performed live on NPR's "Performance Today". After the tour they entered the studios to record a duo album which is soon to be released.

Mr. Platino's debut recording on Naxos Records (8.554344) received rave reviews by music magazines in Japan, Italy, England, Germany, France and the US 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 and, given the stylistic range and difficulty of the music, that is an accolade not to be taken lightly."

Franco Platino is a highly sought-after teacher who has inspired many prize-winning students. Devoted to teaching at the highest level, he is on the faculty of the Levine School of Music in Washington DC, the College of Notre Dame, MD, and the distinguished Georgetown University in Washington DC. Additionally, Mr. Platino is Manuel Barrueco's Assistant teacher at the Barrueco Annual Masterclass held at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD.