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."

John Adams's groundbreaking 1987 opera, Nixon in China, received what the Associated Press calls its "long-overdue premiere" at the Metropolitan Opera last night. The AP describes Nixon in China as "perhaps the greatest American opera of the last quarter-century" and the Met production "a testament to its enduring power." The New York Times sees the premiere not as overdue but rather arriving "at just the right time to comprehend the continuing resonances of this audacious and moving opera."

The Low Anthem's latest album, Smart Flesh, is due out in just a few weeks, on February 22, and is available for pre-order. The band was recently in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival, where they performed at the ASCAP Music Café. You can watch a performance video from Sundance here, interspersed with a conversation with the band about their affinity for playing multiple instruments, their dynamic range, and the collaborative nature of the band. 

The Carolina Chocolate Drops’ launch their 2011 tour with a special engagement on Lincoln Center’s prestigious American Songbook series at The Allen Room in New York City tonight. The show follows last week's release of their new four-song EP, a collaboration with the New York City–based Romanian gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii, along with human beatboxer Adam Matta. Another 20 shows follow in the coming months, with Matta and multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins joining the band on the road.

Nonesuch releases guitarist/composer Jonny Greenwood’s instrumental score to director Tran Anh Hung’s new film Norwegian Wood on March 8. An adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s bestselling novel, the film will be released in the UK on March 11 and stars Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, and Kiko Mizuhara. The score is performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra led by Robert Ziegler, and the Emperor Quartet, and is produced by Graeme Stewart. The soundtrack album also features three tracks written and performed by CAN.

Jessica Lea Mayfield's forthcoming Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, receives four stars from MusicOMH. "Tell Me is a deliciously dark album," reads the review. "Every track on this album is elevated beyond simple country-pop singer-songwriter territory ... This album will prove to be as addictive listening come the end of the year as it is right now."

Chris Thile will appear on The Travel Channel's new series The Traveler’s Guide to Life tonight. On the series, guests share stories that shed insight on the important things in life, including, on tonight's episode, "Hometown," and on next week's episode, "Celebrations," also featuring Thile. His own travels continue with a performance of his Mandolin Concerto in Iowa this weekend, followed by a duo show with guitarist Michael Daves close to home in New York, and the next leg of his tour with Punch Brothers next week.

Nonesuch Records will release k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang’s Sing it Loud on April 12, 2011. Produced by lang and Joe Pisapia, it is the singer-songwriter’s first record made entirely with a band of her own since the pair of albums with the Reclines that launched her career. Fans can receive a free download of the new album track “Perfect Word" at kdlang.com. Pre-orders begin on February 7 and include a manuscript lyric sheet, a number of which will be signed by k.d. 

John Adams's groundbreaking 1987 opera, Nixon in China, receives its Metropolitan Opera premiere tomorrow night, with the composer making his Met debut on the podium and Peter Sellars making his Met directorial debut; the Met is hosting a conversation with Adams and Sellars tonight. The Nonesuch reissue of the Grammy-winning original cast recording, in a newly redesigned and specially-priced three-CD set, is out today. "Adams’s Nixon is finally about to get the respect it deserves," says Newsweek. "After all these years, this Nixon’s return is most welcome."

Laurie Anderson will be among the Grammy nominees presenting the first awards of the day at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards pre-telecast ceremony on Sunday, February 13. The event will be streamed live on grammy.com and YouTube. Anderson has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for "Flow" off of Homeland; you can download the song here. Hers is among 11 nominations for Nonesuch artists this year.

Ben Folds's US tour came to close one day earlier than expected when his concert in Tulsa tonight had to be postponed due to a major snowstorm blanketing the region. Throughout the tour, Folds has enlisted the help of audience members to perform an a cappella version of the song "Working Day" off Lonely Avenue, his collaboration with Nick Hornby. You can see this new a cappella work in progress come together in video clips on Folds's YouTube channel; watch the first one here.

Sara Watkins kicked off her tour with The Decemberists last week and continues through the coming months. Prior to the launch of the tour, Watkins was given the very special opportunity to serve as guest host of the beloved radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Her appearance on WNYC's Soundcheck, in which she discusses her guest-hosting gig, was originally slated to air last week but will air today instead.