Kronos Quartet's new album features the work of contemporary Russian composer Vladimir Martynov. The Los Angeles Times calls his Schubert-Quintet (Unfinished) a "masterpiece. The performance, exquisitely recorded, is radiant." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette calls it a "hauntingly beautiful work, a masterwork ... This is an album brimming with warmth and emotion, of flesh and spirit, that is romantic and beautifully played." The album comes "highly recommended" from All Music, which says: "Nonesuch's sound is clean, warmly immediate, and vibrant." The Winnipeg Free Press says "the Kronos crew deliver a stunning exploration that sends chills."

Myths and Hymns, Adam Guettel's song cycle on the subject of faith and longing in a secular world, has opened in a new production at New York's West End Theatre featuring a new narrative and direction by Elizabeth Lucas. It's a "gently luminous staging," says the New York Times; "the universal expressions of hope, fear, yearning and desire in the songs will strike deeply sounding chords." Nonesuch released a recording of the songs of Myths and Hymns in 1997 with vocals from the likes of Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, Kristin Chenoweth, and the composer himself.

Punch Brothers' new album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, is out just one week from today. Anyone who's pre-ordered or does so this week is entered to win tickets to an intimate, invite-only show at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on February 20. The band will perform on The Tonight Show next Wednesday and can be seen performing the album's opening track in a new video from Vanity Fair by photographer Danny Clinch. Watch it here.

Congratulations to k.d. lang, who has been nominated for a JUNO Award for Producer of the Year. lang was recognized for co-producing, with Joe Pisapia, her latest album, Sing it Loud. Another Canadian icon, William Shatner, will host the 2012 JUNO Awards broadcast, airing live on CTV the evening of Sunday, April 1, from Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Tickets go on sale this Friday. lang and her band the Siss Boom Bang launch their spring/summer tour May 8 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced its 2012–13 season, which will feature the fully staged version of John Adams's oratorio The Gospel According to the Other Mary, directed by Peter Sellars and conducted by the Philharmonic's Music Director Gustavo Dudamel. The project will be taken on an international tour, with performances in London, Lucerne, Paris, and New York. Adams, who is the orchestra's Creative Chair, continues to oversee its popular Green Umbrella new-music series and will conduct two of the series' concerts in Los Angeles.

The Black Keys launched the UK leg of their European tour with sold-out shows in Nottingham Friday and Edinburgh on Saturday. Up next are more sold-out shows in Manchester, followed by a three-night run in London. The Keys got the "crowd rocking madly, a tight mass of bodies punching the air" at Friday's show, notes the Independent in a perfect five-star review. The band has "turned an old-fashioned sound into something timeless," says the Guardian in a four-star review. "As Nottingham roars its approval, it's another fine victory for pop's unlikely lads." STV calls Saturday's show "spectacular."

Björk launched her ten-show Biophilia residency in NYC with a performance Friday night at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. Five more shows at the unique venue are ahead, with four to follow at Roseland in Manhattan. Björk's "dazzling style" was on display on Friday's premiere, says NPR, which proved to be "a lesson in the scientific art of music, and how limitless it can be." Rolling Stone says of her voice: "Unearthly in its range and force, yet absolutely natural and frank in its ardor and hope, it is the vital human tissue connecting everything else." Fuse calls the show "jaw-dropping," explaining "it was evident that one of those special, unforgettable concert moments had just occurred."

k.d. lang has just confirmed a series of new shows in North America this spring and summer with her band the Siss Boom Bang. The band is featured on lang's latest album, Sing it Loud, and joined her on an extensive tour across the globe in support of the record all last year. The first date on the upcoming tour is slated for May 8 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, followed by stops across the Midwest, down South, on the East Coast, and back out West, as well as sets slated for festivals like Spoleto, Telluride, and more.

The Black Keys kick off the sold-out UK run of their European tour ... John Adams talks with BBC Radio 3 ... Laurie Anderson talks "Brain Bugs" in NYC ... Timothy Andres joins Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony in Iowa ... Björk launches NYC Biophilia residency ... Carolina Chocolate Drops, Luminescent Orchestrii play UNC ... Richard Goode performs in Scotland ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica are in Germany, Netherlands ... Kronos Quartet plays Berkeley with Alim Qasimov Ensemble ... The Low Anthem, City and Colour take tour to Minneapolis ... Brad Mehldau plays NYC ... Joshua Redman Trio tours Germany ... Sara Watkins opens for John Prine then heads out on Cayamo Cruise ... and more ...

In partnership with The Creators Project and the New York Hall of Science, Björk has brought her live Biophilia show to New York City for a ten-show residency, starting tonight and running into March. The first six performances take place at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, followed by four at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. Björk gave a small taste of what's to come over the next month's residency in her performance on The Colbert Report earlier this week.

Punch Brothers—whose new album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, is due out on Valentine's Day—will be taking the show on the road across the United States starting the following Friday, February 17, in North Carolina. The band recently added another string of new East Coast dates to their tour schedule in April, including stops in New York City, Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta, Nashville, and more. All of these dates are now on sale, starting today. "I never flinch or hesitate to say the Punch Brothers are the tightest, most impressive live band I have ever seen," raves the Boston Globe's Mike Flanagan. "If you’re not sold yet, you’re reading the wrong blog."

Carolina Chocolate Drops' song "Country Girl," off their forthcoming album, Leaving Eden, has been named Song of the Day by NPR; an instant download of the track is included with album pre-orders. The band is currently touring the US. Listen to their recent appearance on WTJU in Charlottesville here. The Schenectady Daily Gazette, reviewing a recent show, says: "The Carolina Chocolate Drops are highly skilled musicians, but they’re also a lot of fun, with a gift for showmanship." The Independent Weekly in Durham concurs, saying the band has been "wowing audiences with their roots music chops and pure showmanship." Highlights from the band's recent set at Celtic Connections can be heard on BBC Radio 2.