On April 10, 1927, Antheil rented New York's Carnegie Hall to present an entire concert devoted to his works, including the American debut of "Ballet Mécanique" in a scaled-down version. He commissioned elaborate backdrops of skyscrapers and machines, and engaged an African American orchestra to premiere his "A Jazz Symphony". The concert started well, but according to the concert's promoter and producer, when the wind machine was turned on, "all hell, in a minor way, broke loose." During the gale, audience members clutched their programs and their hats, one "tied a handkerchief to his cane and waved it wildly in the air in a sign of surrender." Much to the amusement of the audience, the untested siren failed to sound on cue, despite frantic cranking and reached its climax only after the end of the performance, as the audience was clapping and leaving the hall. American critics were hostile, calling the concert "a bitter disappointment" and dismissing the "Ballet Mécanique" as "boring, artless, and naive" and Antheil's hoped-for riots failed to materialize. The failure of the "Ballet Mécanique" affected him deeply, and he never fully recovered his reputation during his lifetime, though his interest in the mechanical was emulated by other prominent composers such as Arthur Honegger, Sergei Prokofiev, and Erik Satie. In 1954, Antheil created a modified version of the work for percussion, four pianos, and a recording of an airplane motor.