The Grammy nominations are in, and a big congratulations goes out to the many Nonesuch artists whose work has been recognized by the Recording Academy, the organization behind the awards. Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Brad Mehldau, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris, Toumani Diabaté, Youssou N'Dour, Stephen Sondheim, Jonny Greenwood, and Isabel Bayrakdarian were all recognized for their recent Nonesuch releases, as were producers Danger Mouse and Judith Sherman for their work on Nonesuch albums this year.

John Adams's A Flowering Tree and Kronos Quartet's The Cusp of Magic have been named among NPR's Top 10 classical CDs of 2008, the latter a seamless blend of Eastern and Western influences, the former demonstrating the power of Adams's "imaginative musical language." Audiophile Audition gives A Flowering Tree five stars and exclaims: "John Adams has produced a masterwork." With this "shimmering soundscape," Adams has written "some of the most purely gorgeous music of recent years," all captured on this "beautifully recorded" album. "Most strongly recommended!"

Kronos Quartet joined legendary Azerbaijani singer Alim Qasimov and his ensemble at London's Barbican this past Friday for the center's annual Ramadan Nights celebration of Sufi music. The Guardian says the pairing produced an "outstanding" concert from the "intriguing collaboration" between Qasimov, "certainly one of the most thrilling, unashamedly emotional performers on the planet," and the Quartet, which showed "daring" and "range with a virtuoso set."

Kronos Quartet is in London this weekend for what promises to be a whirlwind of events at the Barbican: both its Open Weekend and Ramadan Nights, its annual festival of Muslim music. Kicking things off, Kronos performs tonight with the man who has been called Azerbaijan's greatest singer, Alim Qasimov, and his ensemble, including his daughter, Fergana. The Times (UK) calls the power of their vocals "devastating" and quotes Kronos's David Harrington as placing Alim Qasimov "up there in the top five of all time" among the world's greatest singers.

Glenn Kotche joins Kronos Quartet at the Ravinia Festival's Martin Theatre in Highland Park Wednesday night for the Chicago premiere of Anomaly, a piece he wrote for the Quartet. Also included on the program from Kronos are a number of Chicago premieres, including that of John Adams's Fellow Traveler. The Chicago Sun-Times recommends the event, calling the Kotche-Kronos pairing "a collaboration waiting to happen," given the group's ever-adventurous search for new works outside the typical string-quartet mold and the drummer's own diverse musical interests.

Kronos Quartet returns to Tanglewood this Thursday, coincidentally just two days after label mates Wilco. Highlights of the program include works by Sigur Rós, John Zorn, and Steve Reich. The Boston Globe's David Weininger spoke with Kronos's David Harrington about the Quartet's vital role in the creation of new music and asserts: "They essentially created their own avant-garde." Weininger concludes: "Harrington's musical curiosity remains undimmed after 35 years."

Kronos Quartet Artistic Administrator Sidney Chen recently spoke with the Future of Music Coalition for a podcast, in which he discusses the role the internet has played in the life of Kronos. From allowing for greater connectivity with existing fans and accessing new audiences via social networks and blogs, to opening the Quartet to new sounds and even new collaborations, the freedom and openness of the internet has had a significant impact on the group. "Having an open internet has provided inspiration to Kronos," says Chen. "We don't hear the world in a boundaried way, and the internet has allowed us to remove a lot of those boundaries."

Starting at 6pm on Friday, May 23, Harvard's radio station, WHRB, will be broadcasting 16 1/2 hours of Kronos Quartet's music during their "Spring Orgy Season." The program will feature albums from Kronos's Nonesuch discography, beginning with the 1986 release "Kronos Qaurtet," through 2002's "Nuevo." Tune in online at whrb.org.

Last Friday, Kronos Quartet performed composer Terry Riley's Sun Rings at two events in Germany. The Quartet's latest Nonesuch release also features a work by the composer, The Cusp of Magic. The piece, says JamBase, "delivers subtlety and tenderness in exchange for open ears and hearts. Far from the gravity and self-importance of classical/art-music, the album ... deals in a light playfulness that won't fail to rub off."

The San Francisco Ballet celebrates its 75th anniversary season in 2008, and the final programs are anything but a look backwards. The season comes to a close with the forward-looking New Works Festival, which features Mark Morris's Joyride, set to John Adams's Son of a Chamber Symphony, that "lived up to the buzz," says the San Francisco Chronicle, plus works set to Nonesuch recordings by Kronos Quartet and Gidon Kremer.

The schedule for the 2008 Ravinia Festival has been announced, and among the 150 events to be held during its run this summer will be performances by Punch Brothers (July 21), The Gipsy Kings (August 2), and Kronos Quartet featuring Glenn Kotche (September 3). Kronos Quartet perform John Adams's Fellow Traveler, which they recently premiered at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, and will give the Ravinia premiere of Glenn Kotche's Anomaly, with Glenn joining the Quartet for the event. 

The Washington Post has reviewed a handful of notable new albums by artists with "the makeup of a chamber ensemble, the mind-set of a rock band"---the sort for which "Kronos Quartet paved the way." Kronos's latest, The Cusp of Magic, is "at turns luminous, frightening and unbearably lovely." It's music that "shimmers with the elusive delicacy of a dream ...  and evokes those transitional moments in life when the sharp edges of reality become blurred, and anything seems possible."