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For years you could have summed up Sergei Rachmaninoff in four words: Audiences cheered, critics sneered. Showpieces like the Third Piano Concerto (the "Rach 3" featured in the movie Shine) have always thrilled concertgoers, but Rachmaninoff's achingly nostalgic tunes and swirling pianistic fireworks outraged the austere sensibilities of the modernists, so he got no respect. Today, though, he is increasingly recognized as Russia's last great romantic, and New York City's Lincoln Center is celebrating his life and work with Rachmaninoff Revisited, a festival that runs from Sept. 13 through Nov. 18. Don't miss the second-night performance of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Stephen Hough, the brainy supervirtuoso from Britain.
CRITIC'S PICK
Poetry in Motion
The Emerson String Quartet marks its silver anniversary with a mini-tour of Simon McBurney's The Noise of Time, a multimedia extravaganza inspired by the music of Shostakovich and performed in tandem with Complicite, McBurney's risk-taking theatrical troupe. This starkly poetic evocation of life under Stalin will be seen in Urbana, Ill. (Oct. 11-12), New York City (Oct. 17-21), Northampton, Mass. (Oct. 27-28) and Los Angeles (March 20-23).
VIDEO GAME
BIGGEST BUZZ
Crazy Creatures
When the creator of Super Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda--the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto--gets ready to release a video game based on the same principles as Pokemon, you might as well wave the white flag to your kids and go wait in line at the video store. Created for Nintendo's new console, the GameCube, Pikmin casts the player as an astronaut stranded on a lush green world (based on Miyamoto's garden). Tap the ground anywhere, and the colorful eponymous creatures pop up. The goal is to direct them to fend off predators and construct a spaceship. GameCube technology means hundreds of these critters can crowd the screen at the same time. The more one learns about the Pikmin--and where their myriad varieties sprout--the more one succeeds. Don't tell the kids, but you'll probably enjoy it yourself.
CRITIC'S PICK
Imperial Ambition
Unlike movies, PC games tend to get better with each incarnation. Sid Meier's Civilization III is poised to become the pinnacle of achievement for what is rightly regarded as the greatest strategy title of all time. Players guide a fledgling empire through 4,000 years of expansion and technological change, just as before, but now can also trade luxuries with rival empires and build a culture. The more libraries and temples, the wider a city's influence. History has never been so addictive.
THEATER
BIGGEST BUZZ
When Harry Meets Susan