Randy Newman continues his tour of Europe with stops in Germany this week, following several shows in the UK and Ireland last week that brought rave reviews, not least five-star reviews of his London show from the Guardian and the Independent. "Newman’s songs express a set of values and concerns that touch on the work of other greats—Toms Waits and Lehrer both spring to mind, likewise Stephen Sondheim—but he remains essentially uncategorisable," says the Independent. "On occasions the experience—a packed auditorium, an artist alone on stage with his piano—was akin to a Schubert recital, so exquisite and so deft was Newman’s rendering of human experience." The Times insists "that Newman's work as a songwriter and social commentator is quite simply peerless."

Carolina Chocolate Drops celebrate the release of their new album, Leaving Eden, with three shows in the Northeast, performing in NYC, Boston, and Fall River ... Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer continues London run ... Laurie Anderson brings Delusion to Taiwan ... Björk performs penultimate NYC Biophilia show, "nothing short of glorious" (NY Times) ... The Black Keys launch US arena tour in Midwest ... Richard Goode plays in Buffalo and Chicago ... Kronos Quartet joins Toronto Symphony Orchestra ... Brad Mehldau Trio tours Europe ... Pat Metheny Trio is in Indonesia ... Randy Newman tours Europe ... Punch Brothers are in the Midwest ... Dawn Upshaw joins Cleveland Orchestra in Florida ... and more ...

The Black Keys launch the first leg of their months-long North American tour with a performance at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, tonight, followed by shows in arenas like New York’s Madison Square Garden, Boston’s TD Garden, and Chicago’s United Center, with special guests Arctic Monkeys opening all along the way. In mid-April, the band headlines two weekends at the sold-out Coachella festival and heads out on the road again for the second leg of the North American tour.

Senegalese singer-songwriter Cheikh Lô will return to North America this April to play a series of venues and festivals featuring music from his critically acclaimed fifth album, Jamm. This will be the first opportunity for North American audiences to hear Lô performing songs from the album since its release in July 2011. The tour includes a performance at Carnegie Hall, sets at the New Orleans Jazz Fest and Louisiana International Festival, and shows in DC, St. Louis, Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill, Ithaca, and Montreal.

John Adams's opera The Death of Klinghoffer received its long-awaited London premiere by the English National Opera this past weekend. The production, led by conductor Baldur Brönniman and director Tom Morris has received tremendous attention in the British press. The Times gives the production a four-star review and calls the opera "a serious work of art" and the production "absorbing and provocative." The Guardian calls it “a major achievement,” in a four-star review, and an editorial in the same paper describes the opera as “a serious, beautiful and nuanced work that engages with one of the intractable tragedies of our era.” The Financial Times calls the piece "Adams at his best."

Randy Newman launched his month-long European tour last week with the first date in Gateshead, England; the tour continued over the weekend at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. Friday’s show was covered in a four-star review by the Daily Telegraph, which called it “a moving and powerful experience.” In another four-star review, the Scotsman refers to Newman as “an artist whose songs and subjects remain ageless,“ and the Herald's review refers to Newman's work as "miniature symphonies of wit and wisdoms." Newman plays Royal Festival Hall in London on Tuesday evening, and continues on to Ireland and Germany.

Laurie Anderson and Björk's Biophilia app developer Scott Snibbe participate in all-day NYC event Survival of the Beautiful: Scientists and Artists Ponder the Aesthetics of Evolution ... Björk continues her NYC residency at Roseland ... ENO gives John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer its London premiere ... Carolina Chocolate Drops tour the Midwest ... Philip Glass celebrates his 75th all weekend at NYC's Park Avenue Armory ... Emmylou Harris plays the HRC Equality Dinner in Nashville ... Kronos Quartet performs in New Jersey ... The Low Anthem headlines in New Hampshire ... Randy Newman tours Belgium ... Punch Brothers play the Northeast ... and more ...

John Adams's opera The Death of Klinghoffer, featuring a libretto by Alice Goodman, receives its London premiere in performances by the English National Opera starting this Saturday. Director Tom Morris (War Horse) makes his opera directing debut. Following the 1991 premiere of The Death of Klinghoffer, the New York Times said the work “transmutes contemporary history into operatic poetry.” Adams and Goodman recently spoke with BBC Radio 3's Music Matters about the opera and the controversy that surrounds it. Morris does so as well in a video you can watch here.

Philip Glass turned 75 last month and celebrated in style with birthday concerts at (Le) Poisson Rouge and Carnegie Hall. There's much more to come this weekend with the Tune-In Music Festival's Celebrating the American Icon: Philip Glass at 75, a four-day event comprising five programs at NYC's Park Avenue Armory, featuring Glass’s own music, including his landmark piece Music in Twelve Parts, as well as music, poetry, and art created and performed by those who influenced him and those whom he has influenced throughout his career.

Björk played the last of her NY Hall of Science shows of her NYC Biophilia residency last weekend and plays the first of five nights at Roseland Ballroom tomorrow. NPR's All Songs Considered spoke with app developer Max Weisel, who plays the project's custom-made instruments onstage, including musical Tesla coils. Weisel gives Bob Boilen, host of All Songs Considered, a tour of the stage set-up and a demonstration of how it works. Watch it here. In this week's issue of The New Yorker, Björk talks with Alex Ross about the educational component of the project for public school students.

This President's Day weekend, Punch Brothers kick off their North American tour in North Carolina and return to NYC for their record release show ... Sérgio & Odair Assad perform in Berkeley ... Björk plays final NY Hall of Science show ... Carolina Chocolate Drops head down the East Coast ... Emmylou Harris plays closing set of Warren Hellman tribute concert in San Francisco ... Dr. John closes Asian tour in Hong Kong ... Kronos Quartet, Alim Qasimov Ensemble head South ... The Low Anthem tours Canada with City and Colour ... Joshua Redman is in Istanbul ... Allen Toussaint, Trombone Shorty are in Tallahassee ... Dawn Upshaw sings with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra ... and more ... 

Steve Reich will make a rare visit to Australia this April for the launch of a new series at the Sydney Opera House called The Composers. From April 26 to 29, the House will stage The Composers: Steve Reich in Residence, featuring a workshop with students from the Flagship Sydney Youth Orchestras, a conversation at Sydney Opera House, and a culminating performance by Synergy Percussion, eighth blackbird, and others.