Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, has announced its 2011–12 season, which will feature performances from a number of performers familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Dawn Upshaw and Rokia Traoré, each in a collaboration with director Peter Sellars, the latter also with novelist Toni Morrison; Kronos Quartet in the Bay Area premiere of Steve Reich's WTC 9/11; Sérgio and Odair Assad; and Richard Goode.

Tune in to hear Steve Reich today on WNYC's Soundcheck. The composer will discuss his latest piece, WTC 9/11, which will be given its NY premiere in a performance by Kronos Quartet this Saturday at Carnegie Hall, in an all-Reich concert celebrating his 75th birth year. (Listen to a recent Q2 program on the Carnegie Hall concert here.) Also on today's Soundcheck is a live set from Timothy Andres, who was recently named one of the top 100 Composers Under 40 by NPR and Q2. Soundcheck names Emmylou Harris's Hard Bargain a Pick of the Week. 

Kronos Quartet gave the West Coast premiere of Steve Reich's WTC 9/11 at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Irvine, California, last night. The Los Angeles Times says all the pieces on the program were "given a gripping performance" by Kronos. The Orange County Register says "WTC 9/11 is compelling and dramatic, gritty, too, without trying too hard ... Kronos gave it a stunning performance, which was par for the night." Kronos performs the piece at the Clarice Smith Center in Maryland on Sunday and at Carnegie Hall later this month.

Steve Reich's WTC 9/11 recently received its world premiere in a performance by Kronos Quartet, which will give the West Coast premiere this week in Irvine, California. The Los Angeles Times spoke with the composer about this "signature Reich piece" and with Kronos, "the pied pipers of innovative music," about the collaboration. Kronos will give the NY premiere later this month in an all-Reich program at Carnegie Hall. Kronos and other performers on the concert talk about performing Reich's music in new short videos you can watch here.

Steve Reich and Kronos Quartet are in the midst of their artist residency at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, which will culminate in the world premiere of Reich's latest work, WTC 9/11, on Saturday. Reich wrote the piece for Kronos, as he has his two previous quartets, which are also on Saturday's program. While Kronos may be a string quartet, "they are also like a rock group," Reich tells the Duke Chronicle, "and that’s an incredible accomplishment."

Kronos Quartet and k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will be among the artists performing at this summer's Luminato, the Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, this June. The Kronos Quartet Residency at Luminato will feature four concerts, including a free outdoor concert in Toronto's Metro Square, and initiatives with Luminato’s Education and Outreach programs. k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will also perform a free concert in Metro Square.

Kronos Quartet performs two concerts at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis this weekend, featuring works from their album Floodplain and Laurie Anderson's Grammy-nominated "Flow." "It's hard to hype the Kronos Quartet," says the Star Tribune. "The group ... really has transformed the face of chamber music; it still makes many younger rivals seem staid." The Winnipeg Free Press gives 4.5 stars to a recent concert by this "new music royalty," exclaiming: "Everything they touch seems to turn to gold."

The Barbican in London has announced its Classical Music 2011–12 season, which includes a Kronos Quartet residency with a program of American music and a special mediation on the anniversary of 9/11; two concerts from the LSO celebrating Steve Reich's 75th birthday; and the UK premiere of Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach in conjunction with the Cultural Olympiad's London 2012 Festival.

Kronos Quartet, fresh off their multi-concert run at the Sydney Festival, is slated to be featured in a mini-festival of their own: Kronos in Glasgow. From May 12 through 15, Glasgow’s Concert Halls will welcome Kronos Quartet and some very special guest collaborators, hand-picked by Kronos, for a world exclusive international program of events across Glasgow, including the Scottish premiere of Steve Reich's new work WTC 9/11.

"The three string quartets Henryk Górecki wrote for Kronos are a totally unique body of work," writes Kronos Quartet Artistic Director David Harrington of the composer, who passed away earlier today. "With Already it is Dusk, Quasi una fantasia, and ...songs are sung, Górecki extended a tradition that includes Bach and Beethoven, among many others." Read Harrington's personal remembrances here and see photos of Kronos and the composer.

Emmylou Harris, Kronos Quartet, and Philip Glass will be among the diverse array of artists performing at the Sydney Festival in Australia this January. Harris will give three shows, including a free set at the Festival First Night, marking her first time performing in Australia in a decade. Kronos gives the Australian premiere of A Chinese Home, with pipa virtuoso Wu Man, and performs Glass's Dracula with the composer. Glass also offers an evening of his chamber music with cellist Wendy Sutter. The Black Keys will be in Australia for the Big Day Out tour plus several newly added side shows.

Kronos Quartet launches a three-year partnership with San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts with two nights of concerts at YBCA's Novellus Theater. The program includes George Crumb's Black Angels, Bob Ostertag's All the Rage, Ingram Marshall's Fog Tropes II, and new works by Aleksandra Vrebalov and Sahba Aminikia. "Kronos Quartet brings together an extraordinary legacy of evoking powerful expression with an unflagging commitment to supporting new artists and global perspectives," says YBCA curator Angela Mattox. "Tonight's program is emblematic of that commitment to support bold expression and profound human response."