Roberto Plano's toy Piano

Roberto Plano is a fine young Italian pianist, and a sweet soul. He cherishes living in a small town in Italy, rather than in a big musical capital like Vienna or New York. He's impeccably polite, soft-spoken, articulate, charmingly shy. But when he sits at the piano, he unleashes a cascade of sound, and a torrent of emotion.

You can hear my conversation with Plano, and his wild performances in our studios...part one is here, with Liszt's hair-raising Transcendental Etude No. 11, and part two is here, with more Liszt and a Piazzolla tango.

Plano's first instrument was a tiny red and white toy piano. His parents knew nothing about classical music, the piano was a gift from his godfather. Plano taught himself to play, plunking out melodies with one finger.