Performance Today®

They don't hand out those MacArthur "genius grants" to just anyone. Pianist Stephen Hough is the rare recipient who's more interpreter than creator. But what interpretations they are. He pinch-hit for an ailing pianist on a Philadelphia Orchestra concert, and delivered a thrilling performance of this Rachmaninoff Rhapsody at the Kimmel Center.

The Prague Chamber Philharmonic crosses the border to perform one of the great violin concertos in Zilina, Slovakia. Handling the soloing duties is the talented 29-year-old Hungarian violinist, Barnabas Kelemen, who is currently playing one of the world's great violins, a 1742 Guarneri.

A long-lost gem from Haydn's pen was found in a Prague museum in 1961, and has been a staple of the repertoire for cello soloists ever since. Alban Gerhardt gives it a fiery performance at Los Angeles' Disney Hall, one that pulses with energy and excitement.

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 3, No. 2 Pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy

John Knowles Paine: Funeral March in Memory of President Lincoln, Op. 9 Pianist Denver Oldham

Georges Bizet: "La fleur que tu m'avais jetee" from "Carmen" Tenor Jonas Kaufmann with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Marco Armiliato

Ludwig van Beethoven: Third movement from Symphony No. 8 in F, Op. 93 The Minnesota Orchestra with conductor Osmo Vanska

Richard Rodgers: "My Romance" from "Jumbo" Oboist Suzanne Lemieux with Symphony Nova Scotia and conductor Howard Cable

George Frideric Handel: Overture and Sinfonia to Act III from "Serse" The Hanover Band with conductor Nicholas McGegan