Jeremy Denk kicked off his week-long tour with the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco last night, performing Mozart’s Piano Concert No. 25. Performances there continue tonight, Saturday, and Sunday. Also on the program, the SFS performs Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, Steven Mackey’s Eating Greens, and Copland’s Symphonic Ode. Mercury News music critic Richard Scheinen, reviewing last night's performance of the program, says Denk "can bring such clear focus and tingly zest to a performance that it lifts up, transforms." Denk and the orchestra head next to Carnegie Hall in New York City, where their performance, on November 13, will be broadcast and streamed live on WQXR, and the Krannert Center in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, on the 15th.

Jeremy Denk has written an essay in the Guardian about his latest Nonesuch release, a recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. The essay, titled “Bach’s Goldberg Variations caused me misery—but I still can’t get enough,” includes an excerpt from the DVD “video liner notes” that accompany the album. You can read the essay and watch the video at theguardian.com.

Also in the UK, Denk’s Nonesuch debut album, Ligeti/Beethoven, is featured in the Daily Telegraph as part of writer Ivan Hewett’s 50-part series for the paper on short works by the world’s greatest composers. In this week’s article, Hewett notes Denk’s recording of György Ligeti’s étude “L’Escalier du Diable.”

Denk, who was named Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America on Wednesday, was just named to Out magazine’s Out100.

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Audra McDonald, whom Musical America named Musician of the Year, joins the Louisville Orchestra at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts’ Whitney Hall in Louisville tonight, as part of the Orchestra’s Pops Series, led by conductor Bob Bernhardt. McDonald performs songs from her new album, Go Back Home, as well as other songs from the American songbook. In advance of the concert, McDonald spoke with the Courier-Journal about growing up surrounded by music, specific song choices, and her collaboration with musical director and pianist Any Einhorn. Read the article at courier-journal.com.

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Sam Amidon, who kicked off the Spanish leg of his European tour in Madrid last night, performs in three more cities weekend: at Café & Pop Torgal in Ourense tonight, as part of their American Autumn series; at El Auditorio del Concello in Vigo on Saturday; and Cine Modelo in Zarautz on Sunday. He stays on in Spain for performances in Valencia and Cadiz before heading next to Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark. His tour features music from his Nonesuch debut, Bright Sunny South, released earlier this year.

Amidon “has shaken up the folk scene by specialising in the unexpected,” wrote the Guardian, reviewing his recent performance at LSO St. Luke’s in London. “He is an impressive singer and multi-instrumentalist … mixing sections of sturdy, straightforward performance with others where the songs seemed to have been pulled apart and then reconstructed, with unexpected noises or influences added, but the sturdy melodies still intact.” Read the full review at theguardian.com.

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Devendra Banhart kicks off his Latin American tour with two performances at El Plaza Condesa in Mexico City, tonight (sold-out) and Saturday. He and his band—Noah Georgeson, Matthew Compton, Josiah Steinbrick, and Todd Dahlhoff, plus Rodrigo Amarante, who will join after this weekend’s shows—head next to four Brazilian cities, followed by shows in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile.

The video for Banhart’s song “Für Hildegard von Bingen,” off his Nonesuch debut album, Mala, was recently the Track of the Day on MOJO. The song, says MOJO, “showcases the man’s musical evolution from his more esoteric acoustic roots into percussive, DIY electronic pop.” 

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Bombino continues the French leg of his 30-day European tour in three different cities this weekend: at Le Transbordeur in Villeurbanne tonight; Chabada in Angers on Saturday; and La Sirene in La Rochelle on Sunday. He closes out this leg of the tour in four more French cities and a stop at the Teatro Palladium in Rome next week.

Bombino and his band then make their way across the Atlantic to kick off a 14-city North American tour starting at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, on November 20 and culminating in a concert in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on December 6.

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Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter conclude their North American duo tour with performances in three different states this weekend: at Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, tonight; Saenger Theatre in Pensacola, Florida, on Saturday; and the University of Mississippi’s Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts in University, Mississippi, on Sunday. Colvin kicks off her solo tour with a three-night residency at City Winery in New York City next week.

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Dr. John brings the music of his Grammy-winning Nonesuch debut album, Locked Down, and more to the Raue Center for the Arts in Crystal Lake, Illinois, tonight.

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Pianist Richard Goode gives two free performances at Colgate University’s Memorial Chapel in Hamilton, New York, tonight, and on Sunday afternoon. On tonight’s program is Beethoven’s Sonata No. 27 in E-minor, Op. 90; Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6; and Debussy Préludes, Book 1. On Sunday, he joins the Colgate University Orchestra to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 18 in B-flat Major, K. 456, which Goode recorded with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in 1996 as the first album in a series of Mozart concertos released on Nonesuch Records.

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Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell continue the Canadian leg of their Old Yellow Moon duo tour at the Port Theatre in Naniamo, British Colombia, tonight, and the Alix Goolden Performance Hall in Victoria, British Columbia, on Saturday. They are once again joined by Richard Thompson.

Harris and Crowell recently made their Austin City Limits duo debut when their set aired on PBS stations across the United States last weekend. (You can watch the episode here.) They will be featured again on ACL as part of a special show on Saturday, November 23, featuring the best music performances from this year’s Americana Music Association Honors and Awards ceremony, held earlier this year at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

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Iron and Wine covers a lot of ground with performances in three different US regions this weekend: a sold-out set at Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska, tonight; an all-ages show the Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday; and a performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday. The shows feature music from Iron and Wine’s Nonesuch debut album, Ghost on Ghost, released earlier this year, as well as an opening set from Jesca Hoop.

Earlier this week, the Seattle Times, reviewing a recent concert there, noted singer-songwriter Sam Beam’s “talent for rich storytelling and poetic lyrics … matched by a newfound sense of showmanship.” The Times also commending his 12-piece band for adding “breadth to Beam’s reflective, often riveting folk tunes, mixing in elements of jazz, pop and a little Motown, as well as dreamy, cooing background vocals and plucked violins.” Paste called the show "transcendent."

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Kronos Quartet performs at two colleges this weekend: at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)’s auditorium in Providence, featuring the world premiere of Kareem Roustom’s A Voice Exclaiming, tonight, and Hamilton College’s Wellin Hall in Clinton, New York, on Saturday.

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Brad Mehldau concludes his week of solo shows with a performance at the Théâtre de Vevey in Vevey, Switzerland, tonight, and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid on Sunday. He rejoins drummer Mark Guiliana next week to kick off the European leg of their tour as the electric duo Mehliana, featuring Mehldau on a number of vintage synthesizers with Giuliana accompanying with drums and effects.

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Joshua Redman and his Quartet—pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson—perform two shows in the US Northeast this weekend: at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston tonight and the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia on Saturday. Their sets feature selections from Redman’s latest Nonesuch release, Walking Shadows, and much more.

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Steve Reich joins percussion ensemble The Colin Currie Group and Synergy Vocals for an all-Reich program at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday. On the program are Clapping Music, Come Out, Music for Pieces of Wood, Pendulum Music, and Music for 18 Musicians. The concert is part of The Rest Is Noise, Southbank Centre’s year-long festival, inspired by Alex Ross’s book of the same name, that explores the soundtrack of the 20th century through talks, debates, films, and a chronological series of concerts.

Reich heads next to New York City to join Alarm Will Sound for another all-Reich program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on November 16, featuring the New York premiere of Reich’s new piece inspired by Radiohead, Radio Rewrite. It will stream live on wqxr.org.

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Chris Thile continues his European solo tour with a sold-out set at LSO St. Luke's in London tonight, followed by a free show at Bimhuis in Amsterdam on Saturday. The sets feature music from his recently-released Nonesuch album, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, as well as other works. In advance of tonight’s concert, Thile stopped by the BBC Radio 3 studios to perform some on yesterday’s In Tune; you can listen to the show at bbc.co.uk.

The Scotsman gives his recent Edinburgh performance a perfect five stars. Reviewing his recent performance in Maryland, the Washington Post writes: “Thile was a graceful and soulful singer, relaxed raconteur, dazzling virtuoso, gifted composer and all-around charmer, who gave the audience more than its money’s worth.”

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Allen Toussaint performs two shows in the US Midwest this weekend: at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois, tonight, and the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis on Saturday.

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Rokia Traoré continues her six-date UK tour with performances at the Liquid Room in Edinburgh tonight and the Nerve Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland, on Saturday. She rounds out the tour with two more performances—in Manchester and in London (with special guest Olivia Chaney)—next week before travelling across the pond to begin a two-week North American tour starting with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival in New York City. Traoré’s new album, Beautiful Africa, was named among the Best Albums of 2013 by Songlines.