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John Adams's new oratorio, The Gospel According to the Other Mary, with a libretto by Peter Sellars, receives its world premiere tonight in the first of four performances this week by the LA Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel at Walt Disney Concert Hall. "Adams' take on his subject is a timely, politically engaged one and unabashedly so," says the Los Angeles Times. "However, the politics of Gospel are artfully melded with its broader humanistic and spiritual concerns ... If Adams' work is notable for its willingness to grapple with such thorny subtexts, it's also been lauded for its emotional intensity and accessibility." Watch Adams discuss the piece in a video here.

The new album pairing works by Krzysztof Penderecki with those they inspired by Jonny Greenwood has been named June's Recording of the Month by Stereophile. It's "a fulfilling, call and response between student and teacher where the younger composer tries to push forward the ideas that the older man began," says Stereophile. The album's sound quality is "superb throughout: detailed, spacious and breathtakingly transparent." Greenwood's work will be performed at the Spoleto Festival this weekend; the album's repertoire can be heard at Poland's Open'er Festival in July.

Jeremy Denk, whose Nonesuch debut album, Ligeti/Beethoven, has debuted at #9 on Billboard's Traditional Classical chart, is featured on WNET's NYC-ARTS. He talks to the show about his career in music, his writing, and the impetus behind Ligeti/Beethoven, performing pieces from the new album as well. Denk has "steadily built a reputation as one of today's most compelling artists," says host Paula Zahn. "He is a man of prodigious talent, with a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity." Watch the segment here.

Shawn Colvin's new album, All Fall Down, is due out next week. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full till then at Performing Songwriter. "Colvin has uncovered, polished and delivered another wellspring of personal and poetic gems for her fans," writes Performing Songwriter. "[E]very song’s foundation is built on Colvin’s trademark rhythm and poetry, and topped off with that fearless honesty that has resonated with her fans for over 20 years." USA Today calls the title track "among her best."

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s birth, Nonesuch released Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions, on which Billy Bragg and Wilco put music to lyrics by Guthrie for which he had not written music or made recordings. Bragg has launched a tour in celebration of the centenary and has just added four specially curated acoustic shows in the UK and Ireland this September, with guests Joe Henry, KT Tunstall, and more. Here, in his own words, Bragg shares his thoughts on Guthrie, the Mermaid Avenue project, and the concerts.

Amadou & Mariam performed songs from their new album, Folila—which Relix calls "a funky, intricate and richly textured record"—in A Room for London, a one-bedroom riverboat lodged atop the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, last Wednesday as part of the Sounds from a Room series. You can now watch the nearly 40-minute set here, via the Guardian.

The Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, formerly UCLA Live, has announced its inaugural season, marking the curatorial debut of its Executive and Artistic Director Kristy Edmunds, and featured among the artists performing as part of its 2012–13 season of events at Royce Hall are several artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Emmylou Harris, Laurie Anderson, Allen Toussaint, the Brad Mehldau Trio, and Joshua Redman. The new season also includes events celebrating Kate McGarrigle and Ali Farka Touré.

Sara Watkins performed "When It Pleases You," off her new album, Sun Midnight Sun, on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS last Thursday. In case you missed it or want to see it again, you can watch the performance here. Watkins and fellow Nonesuch artist Shawn Colvin joined Garrison Keillor and the cast of A Prairie Home Companion for the show this weekend, now available online. Watkins performs "You and Me" and "Take Up Your Spade" off the new album; Colvin plays "Change Is on the Way," off her new album, All Fall Down.

MTV today announced that The Black Keys will perform their hit single “Gold on the Ceiling,” off their album El Camino, at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards. Hosted by comedian/actor Russell Brand, the awards will air live this Sunday, June 3, at 9 PM ET/PT. The Black Keys head back on the road in July for more North American arena shows and to headline a number of summer festivals in North America and Europe.

On this long Memorial Day weekend in the US, Shawn Colvin and Sara Watkins join Garrison Keillor and the cast of A Prairie Home Companion for live shows ... Laurie Anderson brings Dirtday! to Portugal ... Billy Bragg brings Mermaid Avenue to Belgium and Germany ... Carolina Chocolate Drops tour with Dave Matthews Band ... James Farm has three nights in Oakland ... Kronos Quartet joins Philip Glass for Dracula in the UK ... Richard Goode performs in Spain ... k.d. lang is in New Orleans and Orlando ... Brad Mehldau Trio plays Cancun ... and more ...