"There's a kind of dynamism and movement to it that's just exquisite," Ken Burns says of Leonardo da Vinci's work. "He could feel, I think quite rightfully, that he had lived a fuller life than practically anybody I've ever come across in my study in any period." Burns was on CBS Sunday Morning with his co-directors, Sarah Burns and David McMahon, to talk with correspondent David Pogue about their new two-part documentary, LEONARDO da VINCI, which airs on PBS November 18 and 19 and for which Caroline Shaw wrote an original score. You can watch the piece here.

The original score for Ken Burns’s new two-part documentary, LEONARDO da VINCI, with new compositions by Caroline Shaw, is out now; the documentary airs on November 18 and 19 at 8pm ET on PBS. The album features performances by the composer’s longtime collaborators Attacca Quartet, Sō Percussion, and Roomful of Teeth as well as John Patitucci. Shaw wrote and recorded new music for LEONARDO da VINCI, marking the first time a Ken Burns film has featured an entirely original score. Also out today is a music video for the album track "The Mona Lisa," which can be seen here.

Just in time for spooky season, The Black Keys released a new song, "Stay in Your Grave," featuring Alice Cooper, from Ohio Players (Trophy Edition), the upcoming expanded version of their latest album, and a video for it directed by Corey Bost and Ali Gomez. The video features a newly shot live performance by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney in macabre attire intercut with classic horror movie footage.

Makaya McCraven returns to his hometown of Amherst to celebrate Max Roach. John Adams is performed in Zurich and Atlanta. Jeremy Denk performs Ives at Yale. Kronos Quartet is in Vancouver. The Magnetic Fields play 69 Love Songs in Boulder. Steve Reich is performed in NYC. Cécile McLorin Salvant is in Germany and Denmark. Caroline Shaw, Sō Percussion, and Ringdown tour Vermont. Chris Thile performs in West Virginia. Yasmin Williams is in Michigan.

"Far Down Far," the second single from Silkroad's upcoming album with Rhiannon Giddens, American Railroad, is out now, along with a live performance video of the song, which you can watch here. Composed by Silkroad artist and Celtic harper Maeve Gilchrist, "Far Down Far" is inspired by the jig "The Far Down Farmer," transformed by the stories and sounds of the Irish laborers who toiled over the building of the railroads.

Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams has announced a US winter headline tour behind her critically acclaimed new album, Acadia. The dates begin with four shows in California in December, before picking back up on the East Coast in February with shows in Baltimore, NYC, Northampton, Philadelphia, and more. Williams also plays Pitchfork Music Festival in London in November and Brandi Carlile's Girls Just Wanna Weekend in Mexico in January. 

The Staves have released an acoustic cover of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" ahead of their return to the US to tour in November. "This song is one we’ve known forever and have loved, partly because of its vivid storytelling but also the incredible string arrangement," the Staves' Jessica and Camilla Staveley say. "We realized that there are actually no harmonies on this song, only the two voices of Lennon and McCartney singing—it felt like a sign." You can watch the video here.

Composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue, who was named Arranger of the Year in the DownBeat Critics Poll, stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. He chose recordings by Bill Frisell, Don Byron, Julius Hemphill, Kronos Quartet, and Randy Newman.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced the launch of her first-ever festival, Biscuits & Banjos, a celebration of Black music, art, and culture to take place April 25–27, 2025, in downtown Durham, in her home state of North Carolina. The event commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Black Banjo Gathering, which launched Giddens' career and led to the formation of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who will reunite to headline the festival. A portion of both ticket sales and merchandise income will go to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

Jeremy Denk's album Ives Denk is out now. Released in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ives' birth this Saturday, it features the composer's four violin sonatas, performed with violinist Stefan Jackiw, as well as remastered versions of his Sonatas No. 1 and 2 for piano, from Denk's debut recording, Jeremy Denk Plays Ives. "Mr. Denk's playing exuded affinity for Ives and vivid imagination," the New York Times says. "Mr. Jackiw, deftly balancing fervor and elegance, beautiful tone and earthy colorings, proved a comparably inspired Ivesian." Denk writes of Ives' music in the Times: "Its animating idea is generous: A restless search to find more in America than we thought, or even hoped, to find ... His best advice—advice we could all use—is to open your ears."

Jeremy Denk celebrates his new album, Ives Denk, and Ives's 150th birthday in Maine. Timo Andres performs Philip Glass in Stamford. Hurray for the Riff Raff is in Chicago. The Magnetic Fields perform 69 Love Songs in DC. Mariza is at Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA. Makaya McCraven is in Brooklyn, Princeton, and DC. Brad Mehldau is in Brussels. Mandy Patinkin and his wife Kathryn Grody chat in Texas. Cécile McLorin Salvant sings in Leipzig and Stockholm. Caroline Shaw, Sō Percussion, and Ringdown are in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Vagabon heads to El Paso. Yasmin Williams plays the Greek in LA.

Rhiannon Giddens spoke with NPR's Morning Edition about the area in and around the town of Swannanoa, in her home state of North Carolina, as it recovers from the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene. She also talks about an earlier tragedy in the region—a 19th-century train tunnel collapse—that inspired the old work song "Swannanoa Tunnel," which she recorded with Silkroad Ensemble. "Why were we given the ability to sing and touch people?" Giddens asks. "And this is why: when you think about the destruction, there are no words, so a song can tap into something that then releases energy—now I can cry. That's what it's for, helping us all with the emotions that are bigger than we know what to do with."