Interesting bits of information turn up in the most unusual places!
I was going through some old books at home trying to decide what to do
with them.  One of the books was a 1949 hardback edition of collected
wit and humor from past "Reader's Digest" issues.  Oh goodie!  As
anyone who has attended garage or book sales knows, Reader's Digest
books don't raise much interest from buyers and some used book stores
refuse to take them -- which is probably why I still had this book.

By chance, the book fell open to humor about concert musicians.
(Serendipity is alive and well!)  I immediately zeroed in on the
following:

  "At the first performance of George Antheil's ultra-modernistic
  'Ballet Mecanique,' the orchestra contained ten grand pianos, six
  xylophones, a fire-alarm siren, an airplane propeller, and several
  automobile horns.  As the music mounted in volume, the audience
  became fidgety and continued to grow more restless and excitable.
  Finally, after eight minutes of the composition, a man in one of the
  front rows raised a white handkerchief tied to his cane, and the
  entire audience burst into laughter."  -- Deems Taylor, quoted by
  Irving Hoffman in "The Hollywood Reporter".

At least one source has corroborated this story but states that it was
Deems Taylor himself who raised the white flag:

    http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Opera/5500/ballet.html

Taylor was a composer and music critic and obviously sitting in the
audience at the "Ballet Mecanique" New York debut in 1927.  It would
be fascinating to read his eyewitness account of this performance.
Perhaps some of our MMD subscribers are familiar with Taylor's report.

Joyce Brite
Player Piano and Mechanical Music Exchange
http://mmd.foxtail.com/Exchange/