Darren Aronofsky’s new film, Noah, opens in theaters and IMAX across North America and elsewhere today. Russell Crowe stars as Noah in the film inspired by the epic story of courage, sacrifice, and hope. The cast stars Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins. Aronofsky "creates a challenging, enthralling, very modern parable," says TIME. "Movies aren’t supposed to be this good this early in the year." "Clint Mansell’s music for Noah," writes the Wall Street Journal, "is appropriately stirring, threatening, terrifying and majestic."

Nickel Creek and their new album, A Dotted Line, due Tuesday, are the subject of a feature in the New York Times. "The most striking feature about A Dotted Line is the sheer strength of the singing, and the frequency with which it takes flight in three-part harmony," writes the Times' Nate Chinen. "The signature Nickel Creek blend ... comes across loud and clear." He goes on to say: "There’s also a high level of songcraft on the album, though it’s scrupulously subtle, in the realm of elegant melodic contour and deft harmonic movement."

Kronos Quartet, now celebrating its 40th anniversary, was the subject of a feature profile on NPR's Morning Edition today titled "Kronos Quartet: Still Daring After All These Years." Kronos will perform in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium this Friday, March 28, featuring collaborations with many close colleagues and longtime artistic partners. On the program is the world premiere of Terry Riley’s The Serquent Risadome, as well as works by Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Clint Mansell, and more. Special guests include Bryce Dessner, Wu Man, Jherek Bischoff, four young string quartets from Face The Music, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Q2 rebroadcasts its recent 24-hour marathon stream of Kronos music on Saturday.

Clint Mansell’s score to visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s film Noah is out now on Nonesuch Records; the film will be released on March 28. Russell Crowe stars as Noah in the film inspired by the epic story of courage, sacrifice, and hope. The cast stars Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins. The score is performed by Kronos Quartet, joined by Patti Smith for her song "Mercy Is." An orchestra and choir are led by Matt Dunkley, who was also the principal orchestrator and arranger. The album was produced by Clint Mansell and Geoff Foster.

Caetano Veloso’s new album, Abraçaço, is out today in North America on Nonesuch Records. The album, which was released in 2012 in South America and Europe, won a Latin Grammy for Best Singer-Songwriter Album. Abraçaço is the final installment of a trilogy with the youthful trio of 2007’s Cê and 2009’s zii e zie known as the Banda Cê. A fusion of the traditional Tropicália style and the indie pop of contemporary Rio, Abraçaço includes 11 original songs written by Veloso. KCRW says the album finds Veloso "at his best."

The Black Keys' new album, Turn Blue, will be released May 13 on Nonesuch Records. Produced by Danger Mouse, Dan Auerbach, and Patrick Carney, Turn Blue features 11 new tracks. The first single, "Fever," can be heard here and is included as a free instant download with album preorders, along with early access to concert tickets. Of the new album, the band says Turn Blue could refer to A: Suffocation; B: Sadness; C: Numbness from extreme cold; D: A Cleveland late night TV host from the 1960s named Ghoulardi; E: All of the above.

Nickel Creek's new album, A Dotted Line, is due out next Tuesday, April 1. But you don’t need to wait till then to hear it: the new album is streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen. "There's no doubt that the virtuosity and vision of each Nickel Creek member has intensified," writes NPR's Ann Powers. The new album is "more adventurous than Nickel Creek's earlier work, and more expressive of each player's strengths ... It's tight, it's masterful; it's totally grown-up. But it's also a blast."

Kronos Quartet is the subject of a feature in the Sunday New York Times looking back in the group's 40th anniversary season and ahead as it continues to innovate and inspire. Kronos performs a program in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium this Friday featuring collaborations with many of its close colleagues and longtime artistic partners. Q2 Music launches KRONOS AT 40, a 24-hour, Kronos marathon stream on Monday. Nonesuch releases Kronos Quartet's A Thousand Thoughts and the five-disc Kronos Explorer Series box set April 8, and the soundtrack to the new film Noah, on which Kronos performs, Tuesday.

Devendra Banhart and Rokia Traoré kick off Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records, the Barbican's month-long celebration of Nonesuch Records' 50th anniversary, sharing an "unplugged" evening featuring recent and past material, at the Barbican Hall in London on Friday, May 2, 2014. Tickets are on sale now. Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records includes a marathon weekend of concerts, May 17-18, and additional satellite events throughout the month of May.

There are just two weeks to go before the release of Nickel Creek's new album, A Dotted Line, on April 1. The band previously unveiled two tracks from the album, "Destination" and "Love of Mine," and has now revealed a third, "21st of May," which you can hear here. Sean Watkins wrote the song on May 20, 2011, the day before the supposed rapture as predicted and advertised by Bay Area pastor Harold Camping, whose point of view he sings it from. Download all three tracks now with album pre-orders in the Nonesuch Store, at nickelcreek.com, and on iTunes. All Nonesuch and Nickel Creek pre-orders are also automatically entered to win weekly prize drawings.

Pianist Jeremy Denk has been named the 2014 Avery Fisher Prize recipient for his outstanding contributions to the music world and his artistic excellence. As the recipient of this honor, Denk receives a monetary award of $75,000. On a marble plaque in Avery Fisher Hall, his name will join the 21 previous Prize recipients, including Richard Goode and Kronos Quartet. Denk has also been named the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's newest Artistic Partner, marking Denk's first appointed position with an orchestra; his tenure will begin in the 2014–15 season.

Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, the debut album from the electric duo of Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana, released late last month on CD and digitally, is now available on vinyl. Mehldau and Guiliana have been performing for several years, with Mehldau playing Fender Rhodes and synthesizers and Guiliana on drums and effects, as they are on the record. Mehliana comprises 12 original tunes—six written by the duo and six written by Mehldau—and was engineered and mixed by Greg Koller (Jon Brion, Kanye West). The vinyl edition includes two 140-gram LPs pressed at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany, and a CD of the album.