You'd think if someone like Franz Liszt took the time to transcribe Beethoven's nine symphonies for solo piano, fleet-fingered classical musicians would be leaping behind the Steinway grands like caffeined-up frogs — eager to explore this miraculous creative juxtaposition.

Hmm. To date, it seems only the Russian pianist Yury Martynov has tackled the assignment — at least on vintage instruments of the time. That counts for a lot, right? In similar context, Martynov, a professor at the prestigious Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, combines on record and onstage the finest of the Russian and Western-European traditions. 

In that spirit, there are some astounding opportunities to witness brilliance when Martynov performs three separate dates in Stonington's La Grua Arts Center. On Saturday, he plays the Schumann Symphonic Variations, Op. 13, with the Op. posth. variations Liszt Troisième Année de Pèlerinagen. On Sunday, nuancing a Zuckermann double harpsichord, Martynov undertakes J.S. Bach's Six French Suites, BWV 812-81 and, on Monday, conducting a harpsichord master class for auditioned performers but open to audience members, Martynov again interprets the French Suites.

Yury Martynov, 5 p.m. Saturday, La Grua Center, 32 Water St., Stonington; $25; (860) 535-3795, lagrua.org.

3 p.m. Sunday; $25; and 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday; $10, free to La Grua members.