Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed wonders what the inclusion of composer John Williams's new Copland-inspired piece in yesterday's official inauguration proceedings might promise for the place of classical music in the new Obama administration. He suggests a number of artists whom the President might invite to the White House to signal his commitment to the arts. On the list of these "rich, wise, inclusive original voices" are many Nonesuch artists and others who have collaborated with them. "Mr. President," Swed asserts, "I guarantee your life will be richer and the tone of America will rise if you listen to them."

Laurie Anderson will lead a special concert tonight at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, New York, to launch BAM's Next Stage Campaign. Curated by Laurie and titled Laurie & Friends, the show features a diverse group of artists—from the experimental rock of Dirty Projectors to the Latin sounds of jazz master Arturo O'Farrill—who share the common goal of making new and original art. BAM is looking to break ground this fall on an intimate black-box performance space behind the main Opera House.

Allen Toussaint, who celebrated his 71st birthday last week, celebrated once more at the 2009 Celtic Connections festival Monday at Glasgow's finely refurbished Old Fruitmarket. Scotland's Herald gives the performance five stars, exclaiming: "Toussaint produced the kind of gig for which this venue was saved. Funky, celebratory and above all downright real, Toussaint's music has the spirit of a Mardi Gras street party running through it and the Fruitmarket is, after all, only one generation of slight gentrification up from being a street itself."

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."

Bill Frisell's most recent Nonesuch release, 2008's History, Mystery, is up for a Grammy Award next month for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, the same month Nonesuch will release a collection of Bill's work titled The Best of Bill Frisell, Volume 1: Folk Songs. This week, he is the subject of a feature article in the latest issue of The New Yorker, which describes him as "the fearless and adaptable guitarist Bill Frisell, whose varied endeavors have drawn him into free-form extemporizations, symphonic collaborations, hard and soft rock, country, and accompaniments for Buster Keaton silent films ..."

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 ...

Rokia Traoré is the subject of a feature on PRI's weekday news magazine The World, in which she discusses her new album, Tchamantché, particularly her decision to include the American Gretsch guitar, with its unmistakable signature sound, throughout the record. "I wanted something electric but sweet at the same time," she says. "Electric, but not aggressive in the same time. The day I tried it, the Gretsch guitar, I knew very quickly that that was the sound I was looking for."

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.

Joshua Redman's latest Nonesuch release, Compass, out this past Tuesday, earns four stars from the Financial Times, which lauds Redman's "rigorous intellect and gritty edge ... while his saxophone entices with its mix of classical purity and multi-noted wails." The review cites the "extra excitement" that comes from the album's pioneering use of a double-trio format. The Evening Standard gives the album four stars as well, stating that Redman's "writing and playing is brilliantly lucid."

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.