The professional world premiere of Paul Lehrman’s edit of George Antheil’s music for Ballet mécanique, synchronized with the film, took place March 12, 2004, at the sold-out 2600-seat Royal Festival Hall.

The next night, 1000 fans packed the Warwick Arts Centre. Three more concerts followed: the Anvil in Basingstoke, the Brighton Dome, and Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
Full tour details are still on the London Sinfonietta's site here.

Read all about the madness in the June 2004 issue of

 of London called the film, "A sinister portrayal of human activity at its most mechanistic, perfectly matched [by] Antheil's brutal, clangorous score."

said, "It was exhilarating in a masochistic kind of way....In George Antheil's Ballet Mecanique, performed alongside Fernand Leger's marvellous surrealist film, the accumulated energy was just as powerful as Squarepusher's because its harmonic resources were richer." FULL REVIEW

called it "an essay in early-20th-century brutalism."

magazine said,
"The music and visuals were perfectly synchronised...
fresh, exciting and vital...one of the highlights of
the evening." FULL REVIEW

Listen to a BBC Radio report (with a few mistakes) and an interview with Squarepusher

Bonus rehearsal picture:
Conductor Jurjen Hempel faces the music
photo: Paul Lehrman