`No-one with a taste for acts of keyboard heroism should overlook these performances.´ Classic FM Magazine on 8.550457. Naxos’ comprehensive Liszt Piano Edition continues this month with Konstantin Scherbakov’s astounding performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, transcribed in 1865 for solo piano by Liszt. Nineteenth century music lovers did not have the luxury of recorded sound, and the closest many listeners could get to Beethoven’s symphonies was through Liszt’s piano transcriptions. Though they have fallen out of fashion more recently there is no denying the sheer musicianship – and physical strength – required of a performer for such a Herculean undertaking. `It’s as if [Scherbakov is] conducting the symphonies through his fingers. … What is so compelling is the way he interprets – how he satisfies at all the key dramatic moments of the Fifth, for example. … This is a truly superb coupling.´ International Piano Quarterly on 8.550457.