Francesco Parrino is an Italian classically trained pianist and composer who creates musical arrangements by ear. He began playing the piano at the age of 4 and eventually graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Classical Piano at the prestigious Arrigo Boito Music Conservatory in Italy. In June 2011, he opened his official YouTube channel, and in December 2018, he launched an additional Extras Channel. His YouTube community counts over 850,000 subscribers and more than 200 million views across two channels.
On his Youtube channels, he uploads a variety of piano adaptations from radio and movie soundtracks. He enjoys listening to all types of music and creating new arrangements in his own style. Francesco crafts his own scores, ensuring they faithfully represent the music showcased in his YouTube videos, and they are available exclusively on Musicnotes.com.
In September 2017, he released his first album “Piano Covers” on all major online platforms and has been expanding his catalogue ever since. In 2023, he released a piano solo studio recording of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
In 2025 he also released his 17th covers album, featuring his most recent work, such as Chiquitita, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Defying Gravity among others.
In February 2020, Francesco was invited to join the official roster of Steinway & Sons artists and was featured in the “Steinway Spirio” catalog with over 200 tracks.
Francesco is also a sought-after guest artist, becoming a Guest Artist for Explora Journeys in 2023.
In 2024 Francesco started participating in several piano festivals, including Candlelight concerts.
In 2025 Francesco was featured in the Italian debut of the Steinway & Sons x Disney Mickey Mouse Limited Edition Piano, collaborating with renowned designer Elena Salmistraro.
In the same year, he released a piano solo studio recording of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue, rearranged with a pop twist.
In 2025 Francesco also released his original album “Look Out Look In”, anticipated by the first single “Stronger”.
Later in 2025, Francesco was featured in the Italian unveiling of the Steinway & Sons Ultra Black & Ultra White Limited Edition Pianos, performing at Atelier Bentley Home with the jazz pianist Francesco Cavestri.
Frequently Asked Questions
My Piano
The Steinway & Sons Spirio | r is the world’s finest high resolution player piano capable of live performance capture and playback.
In January 2020, I was invited to the Steinway Factory in Hamburg and to record some of my covers in the Spirio Studios. These covers are now part of the high resolution Spirio library, which expands monthly, automatically updated from the Cloud.
And then… a Model B Spirio | r made its way to my studio and is now featured in my Youtube videos!
Steinway & Sons – Model B – Spirio | r
The Steinway & Sons Spirio | r allows users to record and listen to performances in stunning state-of-the-art high resolution. Spirio | r permits high-resolution recording on the instrument and editing via the included iPad, delivering a recording studio within the instrument. The system uses proprietary software to measure hammer velocity (up to 1020 dynamic levels at a rate of up to 800 samples per second) and proportional pedalling for both the damper pedal and soft pedal (up to 256 pedal positions at a rate of up to 100 samples per second).
What you see on my new Youtube videos is an example of this. While all my videos are unedited single-takes, you can see and hear what the Spirio | r is capable of from a digital point of view. Indeed, everyone knows what a Steinway & Sons can do from an acoustic point of view! My sound is then mastered as per my usual workflow (and the process is still a secret recipe, you know!) for both Youtube and Spotify. The 6’11” (211 cm) Model B is perfect for my studio.
For further details, please check Steinway & Sons‘ website!
Older pianos featured in my videos
Casio GP300
My recent videos – from June 2018 to August 2020 – featured a different piano, a Casio GP300. This piano is still used for my tutorials and for late night practice.
The piano is connected to a USB Audio Interface via MIDI cable. The piano acts just like a MIDI Controller, so what you hear on Youtube is not the sound of the Casio. The PC runs a custom Virtual Instrument (a VSTi). The software I use provides me with unlimited possibilities and sound options, as well as a virtually unlimited polyphony.
I kept working on the sound throughout the years each cover has a slightly customized setup. Also the synth sounds (e.g. the strings you hear in my version of Chevaliers de Sangreal) were generated by the same software. In 2017, I started experimenting with new and more advanced sound libraries, especially for strings, such as the ones I used in Pirates of The Caribbean – At World’s End. The final touch to the sound of these previous two pianos (post-production and mastering) is… a secret recipe (but you can check some of the equipment I use here)!
Technics SX-PX554
The first 100 videos of my Youtube channel – from June 2011 to June 2018 – featured a now 25-years old Technics SX-PX 554. It had been discontinued long ago but it was a great piano. Rather heavy and bulky, it was very stable and with a reasonably good touch response for its age.
The technical setup was the same of the Casio above, although it was quite a bit less refined.