Kronos Quartet is at the Barbican in London this weekend to launch a week-long residency entitled Awakenings. Kronos performs three concerts in three different venues, gives the world premiere of a major new work by Valentin Silvestrov, collaborates with two London choirs, and engages with young musicians and the public in a series of creative learning events. The Guardian calls it "voraciously ambitious in its musical range" and says: "Kronos have achieved more in getting the string quartet as a medium, and contemporary music as a creative force, into the global popular consciousness than pretty well any other ensemble."

Robert Wilson and Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach returns for the first time in 20 years with the launch of a major international tour, starting with preview performances at the Power Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this weekend. These mark the first North American presentations ever held outside of New York City. "It's only January, but the classical music event of the year is already upon us," exclaims the Detroit Free Press. "Glass and Wilson strip down the fundamentals of movement, image, text and music to essentials and then elevate their essence to operatic grandeur ... It's hard to overestimate the impact of Einstein on American music, art and culture."

Emmylou Harris will be honored by the Grand Ole Opry on the occasion of her 20th anniversary as an Opry member this Saturday at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Her 20-year milestone will be celebrated with performances by the honoree, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller, Shawn Colvin (making her Opry debut), and more.

Punch Brothers played songs from their forthcoming album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, at Bush Hall in London last night. The Guardian calls it "an exciting, wildly original set," giving it four stars. Chris Thile "provided acrobatic, sometimes fragile vocals and virtuoso mandolin work, with intricate changes of direction that were perfectly matched by his colleagues." The Times of London gives it a perfect five stars, exclaiming: "Brilliant, audacious, original and, above all, entertaining; Punch Brothers put on a show that pushed the boundaries of excellence in contemporary music performance in virtually all directions."

Steve Reich joined Bang on a Can All-Stars for the start of the group's 25th anniversary tour and a celebration of the composer's 75th birthday with an all-Reich concert at LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday. "A retrospective of Reich, performed by musicians who live and breathe his music, made attendance at this kind of event one of music's memorable experiences," says the Los Angeles Times. Reich is "as close to a rock star as a composer can get these days." Variety describes the performances of Music for 18 Musicians as "nothing short of transcendent."

Carolina Chocolate Drops and Punch Brothers are in the UK this week, set to share a bill at Celtic Connections in Glasgow on Friday. Before then, Punch Brothers have been performing with Amos Lee and headline their own show at Bush Hall in London. Carolina Chocolate Drops have been making the rounds at the BBC, performing songs from their forthcoming album, Leaving Eden, on BBC Radio 3's In Tune and talking with Radio 4's Front Row about reclaiming the black string-band tradition.

Punch Brothers' forthcoming album, Who’s Feeling Young Now?, due out February 14, is now available for pre-order with an instant download of the album's opening track, "Movement and Location," and an exclusive set of custom Punch Brothers paper coasters illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee, signed by the band. Watch a preview of "Movement and Location" in a short video here. T Bone Burnett recently described Punch Brothers to American Songwriter as "one of the most incredible bands this country has ever produced."

Chris Thile and Michael Daves brought the music of their debut duo album, Sleep with One Eye Open, to the picturesque Allen Room overlooking New York's Central Park as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series. "They’ve been playing small club shows downtown, and they brought that informality to the Allen Room," says the New York Times, "punctuating dazzling virtuosity with bluegrass-aficionado banter and 'Fiddle Tune Request Time.'” Thile and Daves "sing and play the daylights" out of the tunes, says the Times, playing both with "breakneck" speed and "with restraint and delicacy."

Dr. John, who will release his forthcoming, Dan Auerbach-produced album, Locked Down, on Nonesuch on April 3, will lead a three-weekend residency titled Dr. John: Insides Out at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, March 29 through April 14. The centerpiece of the residency is a three-night run of concerts in which Auerbach will join Dr. John and a handpicked band to premiere new music from the album. The residency also includes a Louis Armstrong tribute, a night of New Orleans funk, and a series of films shot or set in the Crescent City.

Steve Reich will take the stage at LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall tonight for a concert celebrating the composer's work. The all-Reich program—performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars, red fish blue fish, David Cossin, and the composer himself—features the West Coast premiere of 2x5, along with Piano Phase, Music for 18 Musicians, and Clapping Music, on which the composer will join in. Following tonight's concert, an LAist Classical Pick of the Week, the performers take the show to UC San Diego.

Listeners of New Sounds, from New York NPR member station WNYC, have chosen their picks for the Top Ten best new releases of 2011, and topping the list is Donnacha Dennehy's Nonesuch Records debut album, Grá agus Bás. On the list at No. 3 is Steve Reich's latest, WTC 9/11. Both albums had previously made NPR Music's best-of-the-year lists. New Sounds host John Schaefer also includes Dennehy's Grá agus Bás on his list of the year's best.

Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach, widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, will be reconstructed for a major international tour nearly four decades after it was first performed and 20 years since its last production, starting with previews at the Power Center in Ann Arbor this weekend. To coincide with the tour and Glass’s 75th birthday, Nonesuch has reissued its seminal 1993 recording, which the Washington Post wrote is "more complete than the first recording and superior in both performance and sound."