In 1865, Liszt published solo piano arrangements of all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies. They are definitely transcriptions that render the orchestral textures in pianistic terms as faithfully as possible; there’s no hint of the extra adornments that are such a feature of Liszt’s orchestral and operatic paraphrases. Playing an 1867 Blüthner, Yury Martynov has been working his way through the set – this is his fourth disc, and leaves only the Ninth Symphony to be released. His performances of the Fourth and Fifth are compelling, not only for what one great composer can bring to the music of another, but also for the brilliance of the playing, the range of keyboard colour that he obtains from his meticulously restored piano, and the way in which he meets every technical challenge that Liszt’s arrangements present. Martynov’s clarity and evenness in the last movement of the Fourth, for instance, are exceptional. What’s compelling, too, is the way in which a solo pianist can achieve expressive effects in this music, subtle rubatos that would be extremely difficult to achieve with even the finest orchestraIt reveals this most familiar music in an entirely new light.