When President Barack Obama was in Oslo last week to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, he took time to meet Malian duo Amadou & Mariam. The couple went on to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo Friday night. "We were proud to represent Africa during the Nobel Peace Prize celebrations," they say, "and it was a great honor to have met President Barack Obama." The Philadelphia Inquirer names the couple's "deliriously ebullient" Welcome to Mali among the year's best; TIME names the album opener, "Sabali," one of the year's best songs.

The Boston Herald's list of the Top Ten classical albums of the year is out, and four of the ten are from Nonesuch: Kronos Quartet's Floodplain, John Adams's Doctor Atomic Symphony, Alarm Will Sound's a/rhythmia, and Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica's recording of Mozart's Complete Violin Concertos. The Herald had named The Low Anthem's Oh My God, Charlie Darwin and Wilco's Wilco (the album) among the year's best in pop/rock.

As announced earlier this month, Nonesuch is set to release the soundtrack from the critically acclaimed documentary about Youssou N’Dour, I Bring What I Love, in January 2010. The album will now be available on January 26, rather than on January 12, as previously announced. The film will be out on DVD via Oscilloscope sometime in early 2010.

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim have paired up for Here Lies Love, a 22-track song cycle about the life of former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos and her childhood servant, Estrella Cumpas. In addition to Byrne and Fatboy Slim, the album, due February 23 [now April 6] on Todomundo / Nonesuch Records, features performances by Santigold, Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine), Sia, Steve Earle, St. Vincent, Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos, Sharon Jones, Nicole Atkins, and many others.

The Associated Press has announced its Top Ten list of the best albums of 2009, and on it are Wilco's Wilco (the album) at No. 3 and Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi at No. 9. Included as Honorable Mention is Dan Auerbach's solo debut, Keep It Hid, and Amadou & Mariam's Welcome to Mali is "also one of the year's best."

BlakRoc, the album that brought together The Black Keys, Damon Dash, and a star-studded lineup of hip-hop MCs, is now available digitally at nonesuch.com for fans in the US and Canada at the same audiophile-quality 320kbps MP3s available throughout the site. The A.V. Club gives the album an A, saying it "defeats all odds by sounding both organic and cohesive." The Houston Chronicle gives it four stars, calling it "a sinewy masterpiece."

Wilco's latest Nonesuch release, Wilco (the album), has been named Album of the Year by the Independent, which has an exclusive interview with Jeff Tweedy as well. In a year that has been "a fine year for albums," the paper's Andy Gill calls Wilco's newest "an extraordinary achievement." Also on his list of favorites is Oh My God, Charlie Darwin from The Low Anthem, "this year's most intriguing new Americana-indie offshoot." The Boston Herald concurs, placing both albums on its Top 10 of 2009.

Kronos Quartet's latest Nonesuch release, Floodplain, has been named one of the Ten Best Albums of 2009 by Songlines. "There are few musicians on earth that encompass a range of music like Kronos," says Songlines, praising its "mastery of classical string playing" and "engagement with traditional sounds and contemporary geo-politics." The group reunites with its former cellist, Joan Jeanrenaud, in concert at UC Berkeley this Sunday.

Composer Elliott Carter turns 101 today. Earlier this year, as part of the composer's centennial celebration, Nonesuch Records released Elliott Carter: A Nonesuch Retrospective, featuring most of Carter's Nonesuch recordings from 1968 to 1985. The four-disc set The Observer called "covetable and historic" is now 33 1/3% off the standard list price at nonesuch.com as part of the Nonesuch Store Anniversary Sale.

Orchestrion, the forthcoming album from guitarist Pat Metheny, is due out on Nonesuch early next year, but you don't have to wait till then to hear music from the record. Pat Metheny Radio, available on patmetheny.com, is offering fans an exclusive first-listen excerpt, now through December 14. You can also pre-order the album with a limited-edition 9" x 12" print signed by Pat only at nonesuch.com.

Q2, the new 24/7 music stream from New York public radio's WQXR dedicated to contemporary classical music, kicks off its first full festival, Maximum Reich: A Celebration of Steve Reich, today. This weeklong immersion into Reich's work will include a presentation of his recorded works, explorations of the influences both on and of Reich, recent videos and exclusive downloads, and interviews and music recordings from the archives of WNYC, the new owner of WQXR.

Rolling Stone has announced its 100 Best Albums of the Decade, and five Nonesuch releases have made the list, including two albums from Wilco and one each from The Black Keys, Amadou & Mariam, and Brian Wilson. Wilco is also on the magazine's list of the decade's Top 100 Songs, for "Jesus, Etc.," joined by Randy Newman, for his Harps and Angels track "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country." OMM includes the Amadou & Mariam album and Ali Farka Touré's Savane on its list of the decade's Top 50.