Ahead of the Playwrights Horizons production of Gabriel Kahane’s Magnificent Bird / Book of Travelers comes a new recording of "Red Letter Days," out now. Kahane wrote the song in October 2020, during the final month of a year spent off the internet, at the height of the pandemic. The previously unreleased track, along with others from his October 2020 song-a-day project, will be performed by Kahane as part of the NYC theater’s staged presentation of music from the Nonesuch albums Magnificent Bird and Book of Travelers September 24–October 6, 2024.

"I think he’s an absolute genius, and his way of thinking about creativity has totally shaped my way of thinking about creativity," Isaac Butler, host of Slate's Working podcast, says of his guest, composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue. They discuss the thought processes that go into Argue's compositions, as on his Secret Society ensemble's 2023 Nonesuch debut album, Dynamic Maximum Tension, and more. You can hear their conversation here.

Laurie Anderson, whose new album, Amelia, is due August 30, has shared music videos from the archives for her 1989 album Strange Angels, originally released on Warner Records, on the Nonesuch Records YouTube channel: "Beautiful Red Dress" and a series of PSAs ("Personal Service Announcements"); you can watch both here. They join her previously posted "O Superman," "Sharkey's Day," and "Language Is a Virus."

Jeremy Denk's album Ives Denk, due October 18, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ives' birth, features the composer's four violin sonatas, performed with violinist Stefan Jackiw, as well as remastered versions of his Sonatas No. 1 and 2 for piano, from Denk's 2010 debut recording, Jeremy Denk Plays Ives. "Mr. Denk's playing exuded affinity for Ives and vivid imagination," the New York Times says of a concert performance. "Mr. Jackiw, deftly balancing fervor and elegance, beautiful tone and earthy colorings, proved a comparably inspired Ivesian."

For Nonesuch Records' 60th anniversary, the label has partnered with photographer Michael Wilson—who has exquisitely captured dozens of Nonesuch artists over the past quarter-century—to produce Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection, 100 box sets of 20 newly created prints from his Nonesuch archive, due September 13. Here, Wilson shares stories from the photo sessions behind the images in the box, with Allen Toussaint, Ambrose Akinmusire, Audra McDonald, Bill Frisell, The Black Keys, Brad Mehldau, David Byrne, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Frederic Rzewski, Jeremy Denk, Kronos Quartet, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Manuel Galbán and Ry Cooder, Philip Glass, Randy Newman, Rhiannon Giddens, Stephin Merritt and Lemony Snicket, Steve Reich, and Timo Andres.

The original cast recording of the Tony Award-winning Broadway show Illinoise: A New Musical is now available in a two-LP vinyl set, following its recent streaming, download, and CD release. The new work features music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens based on his album Illinois, a book by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury, and direction and choreography by Peck, with new arrangements by Timo Andres and music supervision and direction by Nathan Koci. The New York Times exclaims: "The vocalists do not seem to sing so much as pour emotion into our ears."

Laurie Anderson, whose new album, Amelia, is due August 30, has shared music videos from the archives for two of her projects from the 1980s, originally released on Warner Records, on the Nonesuch Records YouTube channel, joining her previously posted "O Superman" video: "Sharkey's Day," from her 1984 album, Mister Heartbreak, and "Language Is a Virus," from her 1986 film, Home of the Brave. You can watch them both here.

“Senso Comune," from Caroline Shaw's original score for Ken Burns's new two-part documentary, LEONARDO da VINCI, is out now, along with a music video you can watch here. The album, with new compositions by Shaw and performances by Attacca Quartet, Sō Percussion, Roomful of Teeth, and John Patitucci, is due October 25; the documentary airs on November 18 and 19 at 8pm ET on PBS, PBS.org, and the PBS App. Shaw wrote and recorded new music for LEONARDO da VINCI, marking the first time a Ken Burns film has featured an entirely original score.

The Staves have released a new song, "Waiting for the Joy," and have announced a US acoustic tour for this fall, celebrating their spring 2024 album, All Now. Dates begin November 6 in Philadelphia and continue into Thanksgiving week, with stops in Brooklyn, Nashville, Austin, and more. "The song began in the throes of the first lockdown when the feeling of isolation was so prominent," the Staves' Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor say of the new song, which was recorded during the All Now sessions with producer John Congleton. "Everyone seemed so inspired, and we were worried that we weren't inspired by music in general anymore."

Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams returns to Aquarium Drunkard's Transmissions podcast to talk with host Jason P. Woodbury about her upcoming Nonesuch debut album, Acadia. "It's beautiful—a showcase for a one-of-a-kind artist. And while the focus remains Williams' fluid and lyrical guitar work, she's joined by a roster of ringers to help fill out the corners," says the show. You can hear their conversation here.

Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. She chose recordings by Makaya McCraven, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Tigran Hamasyan, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Sam Amidon.

Congratulations to singer and composer Nathalie Joachim, whom the Museum of Modern Art in New York has named to its 2024–25 MoMA Scholars in Residence cohort. The program invites three acclaimed, inspiring thinkers to join the Museum for a one-year term to pursue projects and research initiatives that contribute to new understandings of modern and contemporary art.