John Adams led the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, of which he is the Composer of the Year, in two concerts this past weekend at Pittsburgh's Heinz Hall. Featured on the programs were Doctor Atomic Symphony, On the Transmigration of Souls, and selections from Nixon in China. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the composer "has penned some of the best music of the last quarter century" and "gave us a reason to be proud again of the splendor that can emerge from 100 orchestral musicians. He is a composer of our time." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review calls Transmigration "awesome and haunting to experience" and Doctor Atomic Symphony "a masterly new piece."

Joshua Redman marks the release of his latest album, Compass, in his first live performances with the double trio featured on the record, bassists Reuben Rogers and Larry Grenadier and drummers Greg Hutchinson and Brian Blade, tonight and tomorrow at New York City's Highline Ballroom and in Boston and Albany later in the week. The New York Times recommends the concerts, saying that the album's double-trio format leads to "a result that feels rewardingly loose ... the sort of jazz interaction that can only be further clarified by live performance." The Boston Globe calls the ensemble "a fascinating sonic experiment" that both displays its "supple touch" and creates "churning crescendos."

Joshua Redman celebrates the release of Compass with a conversation at CUNY and two concerts ... John Adams conducts the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in two concerts ... David Byrne begins his winter tour in Hong Kong ... Philip Glass plays and discusses his film music at MASS MoCA ... Mandy Patinkin brings his London residency to a close ... Stephen Sondheim talks with Frank Rich at Lincoln Center ... Allen Toussaint continues his 71st birthday celebration at Celtic Connections in Glasgow ... and more ...

John Adams continues as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's Composer of the Year with two concerts this weekend, tonight and tomorrow night, in which he will conduct the orchestra at Heinz Hall. "The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has scored a coup by presenting John Adams, arguably America's leading composer, as conductor," exclaims the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Featured on the programs are The Nixon Tapes, version 3, containing selections from Nixon in China; Doctor Atomic Symphony; and On the Transmigration of Souls.

Kronos Quartet is in Paris to help launch the International Year of Astronomy, organized by UNESCO. The year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first astronomical observations with a telescope. Opening ceremonies were held this morning, and conference events continue through Friday. In the closing ceremony, Kronos will give the French premiere of Terry Riley's Sun Rings, which features celestial sounds captured by plasma wave receivers and images from NASA's archives.

Emmylou Harris and Punch Brothers will be among the performers at the 36th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, to be held June 18-21, in Colorado. Punch Brothers, known for its boundary-breaking blend of musical styles, is slated to switch things up this year with a rare set of traditional bluegrass. Also among this year's participants are Elvis Costello, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Edgar Meyer, a longtime Telluride performer and Chris Thile's duo partner on a 2008 Nonesuch release. Thile first befriended fellow Punch Brother Noam Pikelny at the festival in 2005.

Dawn Upshaw performs in the West Coast premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Passion de Simone—the Finnish composer's oratorio inspired by French philosopher Simone Weil—tonight at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in his last season as the orchestra's music director. Peter Sellars directs. An encore performance takes place this Saturday night. Upshaw gave the US premiere of the piece during last summer's Mostly Mozart festival at Lincoln Center.

Dartmouth College is hosting Philip Glass this week for a residency that culminates in a public event Thursday night titled An Evening of Films and Discussion with Philip Glass. The event will begin with the screening of two of Glass's film collaborations—Godfrey Reggio's Anima Mundi (1992) and the short film Evidence (1995)—followed by an onstage discussion between the composer and Margaret Lawrence, the director of the school's Hopkins Center for the Arts.

Mandy Patinkin began his ten-day residency at the Duke of Yorks Theatre in London's West End last Thursday. The Independent gives the production four stars, saying this "meaty solo show" features "a programme that reveals not only Patinkin's range of emotional colours but also his technical virtuosity. From the baritonal hinterland of his vocal engine to those trademark high notes, the skirmishes between registers simply dissolve and the sound is as pure as breathing. Numbers that demand leaping nimbleness and difficult tonal coloration ... are despatched with seamless liquidity and utter conviction."

Mandy Patinkin celebrated the 20th anniversary of his first performance at New York's Public Theater last month with a two-week run of concerts at the famed venue. Starting this Thursday, Mandy takes the show to the UK for a ten-day residency at the Duke of Yorks Theatre in London's West End. While the New York performances included three distinct programs—Dress Casual, Celebrating Sondheim, and Mamaloshen—the London shows are simply titled Mandy Patinkin in Concert and will feature works by a range of celebrated songwriters and composers.

Christina Courtin, the New York City–based singer/songwriter/violinist, is due to make her Nonesuch album debut this year. She starts the year off with a performance in the city this Thursday night at Le Poisson Rouge, with singer/pianist/composer Gabriel Kahane opening. The New York Times says Courtin's voice "feels uniquely otherworldly, as if it couldn’t possibly be entirely human born." Time Out New York lists her among the people to watch in 2009, praising "her commanding, undulating voice" and finding in her songs "an exquisiteness that extends beyond any genre ghetto."

The Black Keys are getting set to head south for the summer in a two-week tour of Australia, starting December 29 just outside Perth. You can catch some of that in-concert Black Keys energy with their recently released Nonesuch DVD, Live at the Crystal Ballroom, which the Boston Herald recommends it the perfect last-minute gift suggestion and "the next-best thing to seeing this dynamic rock duo in-person," with bonus features behind the scenes "of the awesome Attack & Release."