Performer: Iarla Ó Lionáird

The U.S. première of Richard Ayres’s No. 42 In the Alps was musically delightful, visually whimsical, and all-around hilarious.

Iarla Ó Lionáird presented the theme – the Celtic traditional song The Two Sisters – and Julia Wolfe and Nico Muhly provided variations via two separate compositions based on the folk song.

On Friday night, the Irish new music group Crash Ensemble produced some sonic pyrotechnics to match the Scriabinian lights display at Carnegie Hall’s recently renovated Zankel Hall.