When Chris Thile's Mandolin Concerto was given its world premiere in Denver last September with the Colorado Symphony and conductor Jeffrey Kahane, the Denver Post called it "nothing short of astounding." This weekend, Chris will join Kahane again, this time with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, for two performances of the piece this weekend, in its California premiere. The concert program, also featuring two works by Copland and a piece by Thile contemporary Nico Muhly, will open at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Saturday, followed by an encore performance at Royce Hall in Los Angeles.

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Carolina Chocolate Drops concludes the first leg of its tour of the US with stops at either end of Massachusetts this weekend: tonight at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, at the western end of the state, and tomorrow at the Somerville Theatre outside Boston. The trio heads next to the UK for a few weeks before returning to the US at the end of February. As announced earlier today in the Nonesuch Journal, the group's Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, will now release a week earlier in the States, on February 16.

The Baltimore City Paper, in a review of the band's recent performance there, called band member Rhiannon "that rarest phenomenon in pop music: a vocalist who seems to be singing from inside the listener rather than outside. It's not just that her notes are big and tender; it's the sense that no leaks or filters are removing any of the feeling between her intention and the sound she makes." Read more at citypaper.com.

The Boston Globe looks forward to the Somerville show and to the forthcoming album, which it calls "a smart and snappy collison of traditional ('Cindy Gal') and contemporary (Tom Waits’s 'Trampled Rose') propelled by the group’s high-stepping mix of fiddle, banjo, and jug."

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The Bill Frisell Trio, featuring Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen, performs two shows close to home in the Pacific Northwest this weekend. On Saturday, the Trio plays The Shedd in Eugene, Oregon, and on Sunday, it's at Seattle's Triple Door. For Saturday night's set, the Trio offers Frisell's original compositions played to short films of Buster Keaton, animator Jim Woodring, and filmmaker Bill Morrison.

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Richard Goode performs selections from Bach's Well-Tempered Klavier, Haydn's three sonatas, and Schumann Kreisleriana at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco tonight. He will participate in a pre-concert talk on the subject of Haydn's sonatas. The San Francisco Chronicle says that "Goode, who is renowned for his emotionally accurate interpretations, is also an unusually erudite and down-to-earth speaker."

Los Angeles Times classical music critic Mark Swed described Goode's recital at Walt Disney Concert Hall earlier this week as "a splendid and noble affair." There, said Swed, "Goode made Bach, Haydn and Schumann sing." Read the review at latimes.com.

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Glenn Kotche joins the Bang on a Can All-Stars for a performance at Emory University's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts in Atlanta tonight. On the program are Kotche's Mobile and his Variations on Steve Reich's Clapping Music, both from the Nonesuch album Mobile; Kotche's Snap; a drum duo by Kotche and David Cossin on Reich's Music for Pieces of Wood; and works by David Lang, Michael Gordon, and Evan Ziporyn.

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NPR's Fresh Air will rebroadcast its 1993 interview with and in-studio performance by Kate McGarrigle, who passed away earlier this week. Tune in online at npr.org/freshair.

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Brad Mehldau performs two solo sets in Southern California this weekend: tonight at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara and Saturday night at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

"Of all jazz pianists playing today," says the Santa Barbara Independent, "Brad Mehldau has made the most sustained and successful assault on the emotional inner ears of his listeners, and as a consequence, he has developed a frenzied following that crosses all musical boundaries. The paper then goes on to list the three reasons why the show there is not to be missed. Find out why at independent.com.

Prior to Mehldau's two solo sets in Seattle this week, the Seattle Times wrote: "The magic of Mehldau's playing is the distance he travels and the surprising decisions he makes in plotting that journey. At the same time, he is quite strict about maintaining the melodic integrity of a song, be it a Johnny Mandel standard or a Radiohead tune."

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Stephen Sondheim continues his series of conversations with New York Times columnist Frank Rich with a free event at Sondheim's alma mater, Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts Saturday night. The two will discuss Sondheim's life and career in the theatre. Tickets are no longer available.