Well maybe if that old man had a brain that would not have happened, guess you think these concerts cost $5.00 a seat ........... maybe you should take your name to heart ..........

We need to bring back the coat check room.

Only this time we scan everybody for electronic devices and make them check them in.

.

Turn on you f---in phone, you piece of inconsiderate crap. I don't care if he was an old man or a teenage boy.

I had a phone that was more likely to stay silent if I left it on than if I turned it off. Once off I couldn't lock the keypad and pressure in my pocket turned it on in the middle of granpa's sermon with the attendant kyocera start up ring. I felt about 2" high.

The conductor said he normally ignores such things, BUT it was over the line. Meaning not just an "accidental" embarrassing ring. I would be P.O. if i paid good money to see a concert and had to hear someones cellphone. After all, this isn't some rock concert. The rule holds for everyone. It doesn't matter that hes old - the elderly can be just as inconsiderate as a teenager many times. Age makes no difference when it comes to being a respectful person.

Well, according to the article the sound persisted. So not only did it go off but the guy wasn't making any moves to shut it off. That is worse than simply mistaking to turn off the phone or at least put it on vibrate.

our lack of manners, politeness,and total lack of any social graces, is now the norm in this Country .

American's have always been viewed globally as rude, undereducated and boorish. It's always been the norm in this country.

@jswalding

Turn on you f---in phone, you piece of inconsiderate crap. I don't care if he was an old man or a teenage boy.

Shouldn't that be "Turn off", rather than "Turn on"?

two words... vibration mode...

Turn on you f---in phone, you piece of inconsiderate crap. I don't care if he was an old man or a teenage boy.

hmmm... you are criticizing him for accidentally using 'on' instead of 'off' for his cell phone... much like you forgot to use the word 'off' instead of 'on' when criticizing him for virtually the same mistake..

of course... to be fair... you didn't disrupt a public concert with your mistake... lol :)

"two words... vibration mode..." and please keep calling :)~

give it a rest-

really? that's what you get from this?

They remind you before every show at Lincoln Center to turn off your phone. I hope the old man did feel humiliated.

If I sat through an hour and a half piece and that was the conclusion, I'd be pretty p.o.'d...

The cell phone has proven to anthropologists that a huge segment of the world's population are flaming jackasses. The phone is, in fact, a wonderfully convenient invention.....but, it is totally misused by society's idiot segment. What was it that used to amuse these simple minds before the cell phone toy came along?

Wow. That must have been humiliating. I bet the conductor feels like a big man now. He put that elderly man right in his place...

Being elderly is not only NOT an excuse, it's LESS of an excuse. He ought to know how to behave in public by now.

Judy, if he has that bad of a hearing problem that he can't hear his phone when it's so loud it interrupts a symphony, well, what's he doing at a symphony at all??? If someone is that deaf, I can't see them buying a concert ticket worth several hundred dollars. For what? To stare at the conductor's back? I don't buy it, sorry.

Oh, the kerfuffle that insued! Such a tragedy as Mahlergate... may it ne'er be revisited! Were we raised in caves!? So many schlimazels with no i-phone ettiquette. SO distressing... Our culture must truly be doomed!

So much of this piece of "news" I didn't care about I felt compelled to post. :)

Okay, there are a lot of marimba sympathizers here, so I have to pose the question, would you still be sympathetic of the phone's owner if it was a 24 year-old jerk?

Also, if you can't figure out how to turn off the ringer, as one commenter suggested, then just leave the blasted phone in the car.

rrobeson, why not state which nation you are from? Maybe a little embarrassed to admit where you come from? And if American's are deemed "undereducated", they why is it that year in and year out U.S. universities are continually ranked among the best in the world, and many from other countries (including your's I'm assuming) always try to come to the states to become better educated?

Where is Emily Post when we really need her. She would have done two books by now. One on mobile phone etiquette and the other on the internet.

I have read that implants of mobile phones are increasing.

I cannot believe anyone with any social graces would actually defend the person whose phone went off. What's next, defending people who use their cell phones in movie theaters ?

@Give it a rest!

Alan Gilbert is a respected professional, responsible for conducting an expensive performance. Inconsideration in the audience, accidental or otherwise, has to be dealt with on behalf of the other patrons. It's not a matter of his need to feel like a "big man" (unlike your own pathetic need); it's actually the opposite. It's bleeding heart whiners like you that are the bane of this country. Frankly, if more people took responsibility and acted when appropriate in the face of the ill-mannered, we'd all be much better off.

And now we all get to enjoy our righteous indignation.

Haha you silly boorish old man HaHa

Judy - being elderly is no excuse. As a rule, people attending concerts, plays, etc., are asked to turn off their phones before the entertainment begins. That applies to everyone. The elderly are not exempt due to their age.

Aside from the age issue, what has come over our society that no one seems to be able to be without access to his/her phone for even a few minutes? It's very rare that something is so important that we have to be on instant alert for phone calls or texts.

The conductor handled this very well. Quiet dignity speaks much louder and more clearly than does righteous indignation. New York, and its philharmonic orchestra, are very fortunate indeed to have a professional such as maestro Alan Gilbert.

'What a joke article' wrote:

"I'd love to see the JackAss guys or one of Howard Sterns' guys go in there and pull off a prank like that during a classical concert like that just to piss off those elitist, stiff-upper lip pigs. To see their reaction would be priceless. Don't take music so seriously people"

REPLY: Few things surprise me in these Newsvine discussion threads. But your statement is surprisingly ignorant and bigoted.

Do you think your family members and friends are proud of you, ... or are they often embarrassed by you?

I think were you to ask them, you might be surprised.

there are devices that can block signals I've heard, there has been some talk of movie theaters using them

WHAT A JOKE ARTICLE:

You're the "elitist" who look down on other people for their musical taste. Any performance needs respect, classical, rock, bluegrass, folk, country, gospel, hip hop --whatever. You're a snob

SteveR (Posting 1.23): If you think it would have been embarrasing to have your cell phone go off in a quiet theater, how about in church during the Prayer of Consecration just before communion? I have heard that happen. Whosever phone it was was apparently too embarrsed by it to reach for the phone and thus identify himself/herself.

I'd love to see the JackAss guys or one of Howard Sterns'

Fortunately the world isn't made of ignorant masses like you think, not only would a prankster be liable for ticket refunds, his "career" would be over. Music is not for elitists, rather enlightened

I can see a person thinking the phone is off when it is not, leave it in the car!

Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, but a cell phone going off is no mistake. Church and classical concerts have quiet moments that should not be disturbed.

The elderly have no excuse. Elderly have been the worst offenders in my church for letting cell phones ring. They always come with somebody else; can't the people they come with help them to turn their cell phones off beforehand? In a nursing home, one might sing along, but in a church, unless singing with the choir, other noises are not acceptable.

If you don't know how to use it, leave it home. If you can't keep it off, leave it home. If you think you might need it in an emergency, then do bring it, but turn the ringer off, or have somebody help you do that. Church is a place where people are trying to pray. Concerts costs money; a large orchestra is often struggling to pay its musicians as it is, and must have a large audience, so if one person ruins it for everybody it could destroy the orchestras. They do not make the money that big athletic events make, and maybe that is part of the complaint; we are afraid that the peaceful entertainments might cease.

It is a worldwide problem. A friend of mine went to Italy. He returned with a photo of a sign at the entrance to a small town church:

Dio ti chiama, ma non per cellulare! God calls you, but not by cellphone!

doyourhomework,America, I was going to point that out but ... you beat me to it.

When people go to a concert, theater performance or other entertainment, they are paying good money for those seats. The attendees are reminded before the performance begins to please turn off electronic devices or put them on vibrate.

If you are not a lover of classical music, imagine if you will, your night at the opening of a movie you have been waiting to see. You've paid for tix for you and a date and you are really enjoying the show then ... somebody's phone goes off! Pss'd? Oh yeh. Or, maybe the chickie in front of you can't stop texting. Probably updating her facebook status every two minutes. That frickin' light on her phone screen keeps glaring in your face while you are trying to watch the movie.

If you can't keep your telephone interactions to yourself, you need to leave the device at home or in your car or something. Disturbing others' enjoyment of an evening out because you are too egotistical to imagine the rules apply to you is just ... well ... rude and egotistical.

Bravo, Maestro! Bravo!

#7. elderly man who didn't give a dam...

@ Disabled Voter

Thank you for being able to see it from another perspective.

I'm going back to land of First Read.

There is no excuse! The man was a complete moron not to turn his phone off! I'm just sorry one of his seat mates didn't grab the phone and smash it on the ground!

Disabled Voter:

1. If the man had Alzheimer's (oh please with the pity statement), he shouldn't have a phone if he can't remember how to use it properly. And no one else's problem!
2. Hard of hearing - not an excuse to not have turned his phone off. And no one else's problem!
3. Nobody else gives a crap if he has a family emergency. And no one else's problem!
4. Phone shouldn't have been on vibrate - it should be OFF! Him not knowing how to use his phone - no one else's problem!
5. Deaf - well then he wouldn't need a cell phone, would he?! And, no one else's problem!
6. Mentally Disabled - again, no excuse and no one else's problem!

Get it?! The rudeness, inconsideration and blatant disregard for others is to blame here. There is no excuse as it is widely and adamantly reinforced to TURN YOUR CELL PHONES OFF!!! This is why I avoid theaters and such as your lucky if you only have one idiot in the crowd!

By the way, contributing to the arts doesn't excuse you either.

#8. elderly man who thought the sound of the ring tone ...was better than the house music...

@ Disabled Voter,

None of your arguments are at all valid. Why would such a disabled old man be attending such a nice concert? As far as his being a major contributor, the crime is magnified by that. Puh-leeeze!

Wow, such hatred over such a minor thing... shows such lack of character. Learn to let @!$%# go people. It's not the goddam end of the world! Stop being such douchebags.

#9.elderly man was wanting attention from the hot old women who like his ring tone...

The way I see it, all the people should get a 50% to full refund that attended this event.

Bruce - So you're God and know everything about everyone. I know a lot of disabled people who attend nicer events than you can afford to attend. There are dogs that have inherited millions of dollars from their owners, and so don't be so condescending with your ignorant rebuttal. You mean a wealthy disabled elderly deaf man couldn't possibly be a benefactor?

All you ignorant people need to get an education. You know it alls know a whole lot about nothing, and reveal your ignorance by your inability to think beyond your own self.

You imbeciles are the reason our country is turning into a garbage dump.

Not everything can be answered with a simple yea or nay!

@Hopeful American - Your ignorance doesn't leave a lot of hope for the rest of Americans. Your self centered attitude is exactly what is wrong with our country. Me, me, me, all that matters is me. You don't know as much as you think you do. Deaf people don't have phones? That really shows your ignorance. I suppose you think blind people don't use computers either. Listen up, here is what I said, "Gilbert would feel really foolish if it was determined that this Elderly man happened to be one of the major contributors to the arts." No excuse, but a person doesn't bite that hand that feeds them, at least if your smart, you don't.

Disabled Vote:

Well deaf people certainly don't need phones that ring, now do they?! Just like the blind don't need a visual computer monitor.

And I have a lot of hope for America. I'm hoping that you imbeciles could see that it was the idiot with the cell phone being self-centered and me, me, me. He's either too dumb to own a cell phone, as he does not know how to work it, or he just didn't give a crap and left it on for his own selfish, me, me, me reasons. Take some personal responsibility and stop finding excuses for your own behavior!

As a country we are really going down! No common courtesy anymore. What a shame.

There's hundreds of times the outrage over this guy's phone not being turned off than there is for the elementary school principal raping that little girl yesterday... WTF is wrong with you people?!?

Hopeless - Your superior intellect is showing volumes. If you were deaf, then how would you know if the ringer was on? Maybe his grand kids put the ring tone on his phone as a joke. Blind people do have monitors with their systems to allow others to use them, and fix them when they need to be fixed. There are as many reasons as there are people who can think them up as to how this could happen.

I take responsibility for all my actions, and sometimes for others in order to get them to shut up and act like adult human beings.

Oh, My failure, I'm assuming you're an adult, you've already shown yourself to be inhumane.

@Z1P2 - Exactly right. I'm really starting to believe that a lot of people have been dropped on their heads at birth.

If you cannot follow the rules, then you have no business attending cultural events...especially in New York City.

You are not home in front of your TV watching American Idol!

You are at Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall, etc.

LEAVE YOUR DAMNED CELLPHONE HOME or TURN THE DAMN THING OFF ENTIRELY!

I pay $225/Seat for the Metropolitan Opera+A membership in the Opera Guild; add on the evenings dinner and cabs, etc and you easily have an $800-$1000 evening. I did not pay that or take my time to attend this so I could listen to you YACK on of off your damn phone!

This goes for the Movies, Broadway or any other such event.

Anyone who violates that is disabled, but it is totally a disability of knowing how to act in a civl society, it is an act of selfishness. There is NO excuse

NONE

And Disabled Voter if you are DEAF you don't need a ringer, PERIOD See Deaf people cannot hear. Oh and most deaf people don't go to the Symphony in NYC and sit in expensive seats...see they cannot hear the music!

Don't give me your excuses...My brother is Blind, I have a bad hearing problem but can manage. But I respect those around me. I save my talking for the intermission. And I leave the damn phone off. Your arrogant sense of self-entitlement makes me wretch

Frankly, you too are showing your ignorance. Where did I suggest that I was entitled to anything? The only thing I suggested is that there are a lot of reasons why an elderly man might have a cell phone that was left on. You pompous arrogant people think the world revolves around you. See my post above and you might be able to comprehend how a deaf person might have a phone with a ringer. Deaf people can and do attend concerts more than you think. They feel the vibrations of the instruments, and so they experience music in a much different way. Your myopic view of the world is based solely on your experience. So every blind person is like your brother, and every deaf person simply has a hearing problem just like you. Hmmmm, It seems to me that you live in a very small world with a very narrow mind. It make me nauseous to know how mentally challenged people have become. It's one thing to read, and another to comprehend and analyse what one reads.

Cell phones are now and always have been another government ploy to harm you. YES HARM YOU.

There's only one justified use for a cell phone and thats how they sold it to all of you suckers who will likely get brain cancer: OH SH!T!!!!!THE WORLD TRADE CENTER JUST COLLAPSED AND MY WIFE IS BURIED IN THE RUBBLE, BUT SHE CALLED ME ON HER CELL PHONE SO WE MIGYT BE ABLE TO FIND HER AND DIG HER OUT IN A FEW DAYS................................................................................................

EVERY CELL PHONE CALL IS EASILY TRACKED BY THE FEDS. WHY DO YOU LET THE GOVERNMENT INTO YOUR PRIVATE LIVES?

Oh, and the "service" : "What, say again, I can't hear you, you're breaking up!" "OK Call ya back when I get to a better area...."

SUCKERS..........................................

But then again as a musician, had I been in that orchestra, I'd have come right down into the audience and smacked that azzhole right upside his head: once for having a cell phone, twice for not turning it off and a third time for having such a sh!tty ringtone.

The guy obviously deserved whatever humiliation he got. His phone, his responsibility. There's no excuse. Period.

Truly a travesty. The many long hours and days of practice for the concert and a 1.5hr piece is destroyed. The offender owes, at the very least, an apology to the conductor, the musicians and every person in the audience. Surely Mahler rolled in his grave. Can you imagine if the performance were being recorded or broadcast live?! I applaud the conductors composure. As disappointing as it is that after the concert all the attention was focused on the offense rather than the performance, I am happy to see that there are so many posters with an interest in the classical performing arts.

Disabled Vote:

You are a complete mo*&% and pathetically lost to the poor me, I need an excuse for everything I do existence. You also are a complete waste of time! Bye, Bye!

P.S. Are you married to the mo*&%?

Arius - As it is not the concert halls fault, who exactly is supposed to compensate the audience. Since his phone rang more than once w/o his silencing it, I wonder if the symphony/conductor or the concert hall is allowed to filed a disorderly conduct charge against the fellow?

No doubt Disabled Voter is a troller.

Disabled voter, you forgot one. Disabled man who was a rude, obnoxious jackass.

If the man is deaf, he wouldn't have heard the conductor and therefore wouldn't have been embarrassed. He likely wouldn't at a frigging symphony now, either, would he??

Disabled voter: Are you for real? You're actually using "maybe he's deaf" as an excuse? If he's deaf, why would he need a cellphone? If he has Alzheimer's, why would he be there by himself? All of your excuses are just that - excuses. And they're all lame. This elderly man probably has an ego and a sense of entitlement the size of Texas. And no doubt, so do you. Imagine for one moment that you're the conductor. You're just doing your job... your craft, your art. Something that you've put everything into and some jerk goes and ruins it. Not just for you, but for everyone trying to enjoy it. Now tell me it's ok.

Back in the early 70's (guess that makes me an old man) I saw the Moody Blues at the Honolulu International Center (HIC) and when the concert started the crowd was still being loud and rowdy. I was so happy when the band stopped playing. We were told they would continue when everyone settled down and got quiet. If they were going to play, everyone needed to be allowed to hear them. They stood quiet for about 5 minutes before the audience got quiet. then they restarted and put on a great concert. If you go to hear music, you should hear the performance, not the audience.

Will you people get a life. Nobody in their right mind would do this on purpose, no not even a 1%'er. It must have been super embarrassing. This guy most likely isn't married to his phone like most people. He either thought it was off or didn't realize he was carrying it. Check out the reaction time of your grandparents so you can get a clue. With 2,000 patrons something like this is bound to happen and it can not be tolerated like a zero excuse clause but that doesn't mean you can not have empathy. He's most likely a sweet grandfather whose phone rings 4 times a week.

Yes! That is what I like to do to cell phone talkers who are talking away in public, especially if there is no one else nearby and it appears that the cell phone person is talking to me. I start talking back. I used to be embarrassed but now I go for it.

Here's another observation, not just about cell phones but phones in general:

Why is it that we drop everything to go answer the phone, even if we are having a face-to-face conversation with someone, we will stop that to answer the phone. Isn't someone in your presence more important than someone calling on the phone? There is an invention called voice mail after all.

Remember: If idiots could fly... the world would be an airport! and apparently the possession of a cell phone eliminates most neural work at the cortical level

I don't I refuse to answer 800 calls because when you do you mostly get a message anyway. For business people that phone you called does not belong to you, and the person who pays the bill is not your employee. If you don't have the time to be on the phone when they pick it up don't call and bother them in the first place. Businesses have no manners or consideration anymore so I only talk to the ones I call.

Someone has already used the race card. Never fails. It's 2012 people! Why don't we try using on energy on something that matters! Geeeze

fudge factor;

Turn on the sprinklers every time he walks by. He'll go elsewhere. If enough people soak his load mouth and his pooch, he might take the hint. If not, it's cheap entertainment.

The sidewalk belongs to the city, and he can talk as loud as he wants before the cities quite hrs. kick in, usually around 10 at night. But, if there is an older man who has to scream into his phone, and it is loud enough that you can hear it inside your walls, maybe you should have some compassion and consider for a moment that either he or the other person on the line is hard-of-hearing.

I am hard of hearing, and use a cell phone, so don't try that compassion crap with me! It's basic human civility, and the idiot has none, hard of hearing or not. Frankly, after about the third iteration of that, the idiot should get someone's chamber pot dumped on him.

I personally don't mind others talking loudly on the phone, as long as they're not being disruptive. For example, I'd be bothered if they do it in a library, but not on the street.

Confiscate the phone and charge them $100 to retrieve it.

That will stop it

manners, people manners.

I was in the library, and had my new phone. I turned it to vibrate. Imagine my horror when the darned thing went off, both the ring tone AND the vibrate. There was no way I could shut off the ring tone and have vibrate only. Perhaps the gentleman had the same POS phone I had.

rainlady

I see no reason to even set the phone on vibrate during the symphony ..... you are not going to answer it anyway. Cell phones are pretty good at taking messages so turn the damn thing off.

don,

there are many people with critical 24x7 response times required of them. Of course, to be such an individual, you have to have an IQ greater than an overcooked hot-dog so such people are rarely caught using their phone inappropriately.

The elderly gentlemen probably didn't know how to even use his phone and was too embarassed to admit it. That happens a lot in that age bracket.

I don't buy the 24x7 argument, the world went on just fine before cell phones existed

MY GOD. You're right, rrobeson. Nothing ever was accomplished until the creation of cell phones. Why, could you imagine a world where people actually had to wait to talk with someone? Just thinking about it makes me tremble in fear!

If you are on call, stay the hell out of the concert hall! I swear, for something called a smart phone, these things turn folks into idiots faster than the sight of a nice pair of knockers!

rrobeson...if you are on call or required to answer your phone, don't go to an event that requires phones to be turned off! Speaking as someone who has been in the audience and on stage there is nothing worse than art being interrupted. Simply, it is called being responsible and considerate.

There was a world before cell phones? Inconceivable!

Nobody is so important that they have to be available 24/7. That is just an ego trip. I still remember filling in for the receptionist when she went on break, and cell phones were fairly new. A couple of the former management would not even be out of the parking lot before they called and had you page someone.

pj-

Doctors? Paramedics? I can think of many more. Regardless, vibrate mode is virtually inaudible to anyone more than 2 feet away and even someone who is on call 24/7 should know that. Furthermore, it doesn't seem like the man was on-call, no offense intended toward the elderly community.

No excuses here. Let's just forgive and move on. He's probably too nervous to step inside another concert hall; I think the message has been sent (no pun intended). With some of the largest orchestras having financial issues, we need to use this publicity to increase attendance and keep the arts alive.

... there is nothing worse than art being interrupted.

nklpkl - sorry, but there are plenty of things far worse than art being interrupted. However, it is rude and inconsiderate to everyone when one person feels that he is so indispensable and special that he is entitled to a different set of rules.

This whole comment section has become riddled with assenine comments from like people.

Got a problem making your phone stop ringing? Pull the battery.

Got a 24/7 responsibility? Tell your answering or paging service where you will be and have them call there to have you physically notified, then tell the ushers where you are sitting.

But, DO NOT ruin my infrequent, expensive entertainment. There should be a way to class action sue the guy (or anyone else) who is negligent in human consideration.

I don't buy the 24x7 argument, the world went on just fine before cell phones existed

I lived in a small one-doctor town, back before pagers even. When I worked at the movie theater, the doctor would tell us where he would be sitting at if there was a call from the hospital. Same with the pharmacist. If blood was needed at the hospital, there would be an announcement on the radio or I(if there was one) at the high school game.

I solved my phone ringing off the 'hook' a long time ago. I got a new number and I don't give it out, only about 10 people have it.

I don't need your calls nearly as much as you seem to feel the need to call me.

Heck at Home unless I have your number programmed into my phone, it will not ring, it will only light up...and I likely will not answer it. I just say something vulgar and ignore it! My friends when they are over find my attitude towards the phone hilarious. I get a hundred or so calls a day at work...that is all you get.

elderly man at a prestigious symphony = 65+ rich white guy.

forgiveness is not called for and none should be granted. he was in the wrong and should've known better. he deserves any shame he receives.

Maybe. But let it be a lesson to the rest of us, as we age.

odium44,

It could have been a poor old man who who had spent his last dollar to attend that concert, as it was his dying wish before cancer took him. Mister, you don't know squat.

One thing I do know is that there is very little respect for the elderly left in this country. Shame on you, sir, and on everyone else who is looking down your nose right now. I hope bees fly up them.

Forgiveness is always called for.

odium44: Hi, racist!

(You know, because we've never seen an elderly Asian or Black guy at a symphony.)

Odium 44, How do you know he was a white guy? Because it was classical music? Oh, here we go with the stereotypes. Why could it have not been an Indian, an African American, an Asian, Hispanic, or maybe, just maybe a Fijian, or Samoan? The article did not state it was an elderly white guy. Moron.

If one is shocked at how rude, crass, and ignorant our youth is, and they wonder what caused it, they shouldn't look at TV, video games, public schools or the Internet, you just need to look at their ancestors. The answer is always there.

I can't figure out if lonewarder is a troll post or is serious.

rrobeson - You hit the nail right on the head!

Odium you should be ashamed of yourself! 65 + rich white guy?! My sister-in-law is 65+. True. Rich? Nah. She's still working. White? No. Hispanic. Guy? Not hardly. She happens to love classical music. And opera. And classic Rock. Inter alia. Other than that, much of your comment is valid. Rudeness is rudeness.

It's pretty unbelievable that he would have a phone yet not know how to shut it off. You see, even if he doesn't ever turn it off and he never declines the call, he could still answer it and immediate hang up without saying a word. In fact that used to be how you stopped a desk phone from ringing.

There's no excuse for his behavior. The elderly deserve our respect, but not when they're disrespectful towards others. Being old isn't a blank cheque to be so utterly inconsiderate.

Well Loane if he was planning to die right after the concert hew would not need to get a call, since he would not be available to do anything.

NYAH!

Steve, I love the idea of a symphone class action suit!

I thought there was cellphone blocking technology available for this (since we have yet to invent moron blocking technology)

Not a chance, the symphony operators, building managers, etc. all require cellphones to conduct their business in the building before, during, and after the show. This doesn't even take into account the very real possibility of personal emergencies, etc. Face it, we live in a connected world. However this brave new world requires a certain level of etiquette.

Staff people use walkie talkies to talk to each other, not cell phones. Personal emergencies can call the venue. Let the cell phone and moron blocking begin...

Yes to ettiquette & civility! Although I can certainly identify w/ the conductor and many of the musicians I'm sure as well as those in the audience who recognized a complete aberation to Mahler's composition. (However given Mahler's penchant for juxtaposition of themes and dramatic shifts in mood, he may have considered it material for his next work.) I am sure given my temprament and my idealized expectations if I could have afforded the tickect price for such a performance, my first reaction would have been to immediately give the conductor a standing ovation.

On the other hand, not having been there and with some opportunity of reflection. I know I am more technically challenged than that guy. At least he had a cool ring tone. I would simply have pushed the wrong button and not realized I had increased the volume rather than shut it off! Then as the focus of such indignation I would have to ban myself forever from one of my most beloved experiences.

Everyone lost in that situation. I doubt there can be any completely satisfactory resolution, but just as a five loaves and two fishes kind of miracle, I propose that a fund be created to collect penalties of 9 times the offender's ticket price and one half the gross of the indignant conductor's or performer's take for the event to fund a benefit concert of equal quality or greater particularly for those whose cultural experiences have suffered great injury.

FCC regulations forbid the deployment of cellphone blocking devices in almost all (all?) circumstances.

Modinallthings: I remember a concert at University of Maryland (College Park, MD) in the early 60's: Beethoven's Violin Concerto, played by the National Symphony Orchrestra, conducted by Howard Mitchell, with Isaac Stern as the violin soloist. About half-way through the last movement, a siren went off next door to the symphony hall. It was the local (volunteer) fire company being summoned for a fire call. At the time, the entire county where College Park was located was served by volunteer fire companies only, and the primary means of calling for a fire, etc., was the very loud siren. The siren drowned out the orchestra, which stopped. An off-duty member of the fire company happened to be in the audience. He got up and told the director to not resume until he told him to. The director wisely agreed. After the calling siren wound down, another took its place. It was the first piece of equipment responding. Two other piecess also responded, each with its own siren. After the third siren faded, the fireman told the orchestra to resume playing. They went back to a convenient starting point and finished the performance - to a standing ovation.

....don't you just sound all edjumacated!

Ok, then, RightasRain -- so don't bother to go to a symphony. Simple, innit?

How vulgar, RightasRain.

Yo rain man, there are actually some good songs not entirely made up of the word " mo--er--c-er"

I find Mahler boring, too, rightasrain. I hope you are not crossing off all of classical music.

"Right As Rain" probably things Wrestling is culture....

Will spend his life wallowing in the mire of the latest forgettable rock shock metal 'song'

He will never know better, he won't care...

He will live in ignorant bliss

then he will die

and nobody will care

This is a really good idea.

I'd shout out 'you suck' at the conductor if after paying those prices, I get to see his precious drama BS.

Really? Well, next time you or one of your kids (if you ever have kids) happen to be on the stage, I hope someone's cell phone starts ringing REALLY LOUD just as the performance gets to the "good part" -- just so the entire audience can listen to the ringtone and not your (or your kids') performance.

How old are you mgabrys....nine?

Because the majority of us don't need to be forced to do the obvious. The few of us that don't, just need to be publically humiliated and punished. IF their parents had done that to them at the right time in their lives, even that wouldn't be needed.

When you go to the symphony, there is usually a notice at the beginning to turn off your cell phone. Age is no excuse for selfish, rude arrogance.

obviously you don't go to any live theatre or classical concerts where they do "remind" you to make sure the electronics are on silence. It really is disturbing and incredibly rude. If you want everyone to know you were raised in a barn by the pigs, leave your phone on.

Good god, you thought that was worth saying TWICE? Class act.

So you don't like classical music? I'm sure I don't like the music you listen to either.

Or maybe you are one of those people who doesn't listen to music at all. Oh, a troll, that's it.

Have you ever heard Mahler's Ninth? In its full 90+ minutes length?

Why the hell would I do that. Maybe it should be played, in it's entirety, at the GITMO exercise yard as a method of torture.

I'll tell you what. The 9th Symphony of Gustav Mahler is The Greatest Symphony of all times. And that's not an exaggeration.

It was the last symphony Mahler completed, his Magnum Opus. He was then terminally ill with heart infection(although these day his condition is treatable). Just a few years ago his young daughter died of infectious disease. And this symphony was about all his life, about all our life. It's not some mindless entertaining music, neither was it some obscure academic exercise. In some ways is predicted atrocities of 20th century. It's an astonishing piece; once you get it, you want to hear it again and again.

But if all you can ever digest is Nickelback, please kindly disregard all I just wrote.

AlexG,

I don't care for romantic Austrians and what is a Nickelback. Do I owe you money.

The 9th Symphony of Gustav Mahler is The Greatest Symphony of all times. And that's not an exaggeration.

AlexG - Who made you the classical music czar? The is an abundance of great classical music, some of it far better than anything Mahler wrote.

AlexG: I'm not familiar with Mahler's 9th. Whose recorded performance do you consider the best? Is it available on CD? The only Mahler sysmphony where I have any intimacy of familiarity is his second, the Resurection. I sang the low bass line with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra during April 1964. The low bass line convers two octaves and a sixth, from low b-flat (60hz) to g above middle c. A ,assive and magnificent piece of music. I highly recommend it. About 80 minutes long, and worth every secod of it.

@scales67:

Yes, there is a lot of great classical music. But I challenge you to name a greater symphony.

@Fred Craven:

All Mahler's symphonies are available on CDs, by various conductors and orchestras. Get them all (symphonies, that is; it's impossible to get all recordings). You may find 7th first movement baffling, but it depends on the condictor. Not every conductor can make it hold together.

For a while, I've been hesitant to get 9th, because I was under impression that 8th wasn't too good, but I was very mistaken. Even 10th, which was left in incomplete score, is impressive. I got a recording by Sir Simon Rattle.

Probably just you, justicepeeing.

Real classy, justice. How old are you? 12? There is always one ignoramus who has to turn any discussion into something political.

"It only takes one jerk to screw it up for everybody, whether in the theater or in life."

Exactly, working poor! I've both attended, and been part of, performances that were disrupted because of someone's inconsideration of others. Not only are announcements made beforehand (which, unfortunately, people disregard much the same way they now ignore the emergency procedures briefing before flying), but notices in the printed programs ask patrons to turn off all cell phones, pagers, etc., AND to refrain from taking photographs during performances. Years ago, Glenn Close stopped a performance of Sunset Boulevard on Broadway cold when someone in the audience was taking flash photographs of her. She then turned to the offending party and asked, "Would you like me to stand here while you take photos, or will you stop it so we can continue with the performance?" Needless to say, the offender was so embarrassed than the picture-taking stopped. I'm not sure such humiliation would work with all the jerks out there today. I think cell phone usage has contributed to this decline in consideration of others, which is the foundation of etiquette in all things.

Just cause it ain't a prolum at the tracktor pull on Saddee night doesn't mean it ain't a prolum at Carnegie Hall.

I'll bet your kids are the ones their iPhones to their friends one row back of me at the movie last Friday night...

cincy: apparently you have never been to a symphony. It can be mesmerizing, then boom. a cell phone goes off. However , the offending phone is usually turned off quickly.

You are one who probably talks on a cell phone while shopping, driving etc....I bet you don't turn it off during a movie either do you?

The man deserves a little humiliation! Maybe he will remember next time. And it's not like anything really terrible was done to him. When I go to any type of public event where my cell phone ringing would be an interruption or embarrassment I turn it OFF. I don't use sleep mode, or turn it to vibrate, it's OFF! It's not like you are going to take the call, so turn it OFF! I have had no problems with my phone being turned on in my pocket accidentally, and if I did I would find a way to make sure that does not happen.

When you hear the New York Philharmonic you are listening to a group of world class musicians who are extremely gifted and have dedicated their lives to the incredibly demanding profession of classical performance. This isn't a normal job! These players are elite. Everybody out there is a brilliant musician who has sacrificed to get where they are. They deserve 100% attention. As does the work itself. Any great concert work is a masterpiece, a testament to civilization, a work of genius. Would you photograph a work of art in a museum knowing it is forbidden and detracts from others viewing? Of course not. This is no different.

Symphonies don't suffer for this type of "stuffiness". Other performing arts, even cinema multiplexes have similar expectations of their clientele. Classical music does require a bit of knowledge, and more importantly an attention span, for full appreciation. This is the main reason symphonies are in decline in this overstimulated, superficial world.

Right, Matt .... and there is no one in the audience who is likely to forget the lesson either.

Hey cincy_cosmo, I bet that was either you or a member of your family in the restaurant today, talking VERY LOUDLY into his cell phone. Everyone in the restaurant, even those two sections over, could clearly hear the moron talk about the divorce, the medical problems, the neighbor's dog crapping in the garden.........

Matt D, we're raising a nation full of disrespectful, arrogant and self-entitled incompetents. Of course they don't appreciate classical music. Anything elegant, cultural, anything requiring discipline and effort is beyond them. Thanks for your post - you're absolutely right, but unfortunately you aren't using text-type (e.g.,"thx 2 U... LMAO"). The morons can't read it.

cincy_cosmo...a cell phone during a symphony is much like a cheer during a tennis match or golf tournament. They don't like it there either!

Matt D...well said! Thank you!

lolololololololol

cincy-cosmo.... let me guess, your 15? I would have given the conductor a standing ovation for making that ignorant jerk turn his damn phone off. It isn't a Rock concert where you can't hear the phones and maybe just maybe if you listened to a few classical pieces you'd grow up. I love Rock and I love Classical, I love both types of concerts and I am aware of what is expected of me to be a good audience member at either. Cell phones in public performances whether they are movies, live theatre, opera, symphonies or stadium rock concerts SHOULD BE TURNED OFF.

Then turn the bloody thing off before you go to a concert.

Hey NyNy-2742735, I hear that the iPhone comes with this neat little "app" where you have to push the "buttons" in a specific sequence to get everything to work. My old Nokia phone had it, too -- it was called a "button lock/unlock" feature, to keep the phone from butt-dialing people in the old Soviet Union.

NyNy...you generalizing people who enjoy classical music as snooty is the same as me saying everyone who enjoys sports is stupid. Pulleeeez! People enjoy what they like. Why make them feel bad for it? Oh yeah, it's different from you!

that's why it should have been turned O-F-F!

Quacked, I had a Nokia with that; it would unlock if it was accidentally hit. How I solved the problem? I turned the damn thing OFF!

Thank you! Schadenfreude is a word that is overused by the media and this is just one example of where it is used incorrectly.

The word is used correctly, since the rightfully enraged audience members did take some pleasure in the interruption caused by the man's stupidity -- because they thoroughly enjoyed seeing him squirm.

That is how I read it, the audience took delight in the offender's misfortune.

Yeah, but this made the news, and caused all these comments, because the conductor thought it was his job to teach somebody a lesson, and so STOPPED THE MUSIC!! Typical "artiste" behavior (if it aint the way you like it, hold your breath until you turn blue, and bang your head on the floor. That'll teach'em.) The cell phone was bad enough. But, this dolt made it worse by stopping the music, and thereby assured that everyone in the hall, plus all the readers here, found out about it. Seems orchestra conductors need their own "Hypocratic Oath" (basically, don't make things worse.)

Simply put, about 1/3 of the interruption was caused by the cell phone. 2/3 was caused by the attitude of the conductor.

Yes, because everyone loves to listen to a cell phone going off during a show. Someone should sit behind you at a movie theater and yell something so that you have no idea what is going on in the movie. You become distracted and then lose intrust because now the mood has been ruined by some jerk. At least the conductor stopped and restarted to get people back in the mood.

People are not paying big bucks to see this show just to have someone make noise during it. Movie theaters are losing money and they are trying to blame piracy. That is crap! My friend worked in a few movie theaters and the top two reasons why no one goes to the theaters are cell phones going off or being answered and people talking during a movie (screaming children come in third). People don't want that noise so they don't even go to a movie theater, etc.

People don't want to pay to hear your phone go off; they want the theater experience. They want to experience the possibility of an architectural design enhancing the sound of small instruments, the ability to hear any slight fault that a player will make or any pitch/tone hit correctly...but you wouldn't know anything about that. You're the kind of guy who would be at a outside child's graduation, forcing a smile as someone's car alarm goes off for 5 minutes, irritating other parents who want to view this moment.

Big Ed - I think you need to brush up on what the Hippocratic Oath actually is. If applied to a conductor's work, Gilbert acted appropriately.

It's not so personal when an entire concert hall can hear it.

Last time you checked you were right. As well, the conductor had the freedom of speech to embarass the gentleman, which I applaud him for. Your mother probably didn't teach you much about respecting others obviously. When you choose to buy a ticket, then you choose to follow the rules of the venue, period. With a no cell phone policy in affect he shouldn't have had it on ringer. It's his own fault and it's a shame that society can't grasp the concept of proper etiquette, especially at a symphony. Your probably the guy that complains at restaurants to get a free meal even though everything was fine.

Guess that was a little too subtle for you guys.

Hey Cynic, I'm going to be eating at your favorite restaurant at the same time you're there -- and because it's a free country, not only will I be sitting only two tables away from you, my VERY ANNOYING cell phone ringtone will be set to maximum volume. Oh, and I'll be expecting a call while I'm there, but it'll take me at least twenty rings to answer.

No one is suggesting government control. That's a ridiculous statement. Self-control perhaps...but that may be too much to ask from today's pop culture who have been led to believe that anything they want is okay, because, well, it's simply what they want. After all, it's your self-esteeeeeeem at stake.

And PS - there was nothing subtle in your post.

When you pay to go to a concert so do the other people there your freedom to swing your arms in public stops where the other guys nose starts. In other words your freedom to be annoying with your cell phone stops where it annoys the other guy. Please keep it polite I don't want to hear about your day when I paid the price for entertaiment

Geez, I hate to think what the reaction would have been if the old guy had decided to liberate the 7-11 Truckstopper burrito he ate before the concert..."Turn it off! Turn it off! For the love of all things beautiful, turn it off!!

Ok, the cell phone was an interruption. For how many people, we don't know. Then the conductor had to teach the old guy a lesson (much like the readers here would have, apparently), and was concert was destroyed. The conductor could have continued the music, and made the best of the situation, for as much of the audience as possible. Or, he could have gotten all selfrighteous, and decided to teach the old guy a lesson, and ruin everybodies evening. Did the conductor act like a grown up individual (and like a true professional) and "go on with the show"? If he had, you wouldn't have ever heard of the incident, and by noon the next day, everyone there would have forgotten the interruption. So, how much of a favor did the conductor do for the audience by throwing a temper tantrum (stopping the orchestra was a grand temper tantrum, if you think about it)?

Have them continue on, ruining my evening for that fact that I paid a lot of money to hear music, not a cell phone...or stop, get the guy to turn off the damn phone, and then play again to get everyone back in the mood minus a distracting cell ring.

I remember a few years ago going to a movie theater and some a-hole was talking on his phone during the first few minutes. His phone would go off for a minute, then he would talk for less than 5 minutes, hang up, and about 5 minutes later: repeat. It got to the point that when his phone went off, everyone in the audience groaned and told him to turn off the phone. Finally, someone got a movie theater attendant to kick the guy out.

Hey, Ed... The cellphone went off during a "quiet" part of the concert and kept going off because the owner was apparently not compelled to rectify his mistake. The conductor had to stop because this insufferable moron left him no choice. Had he shut his phone off immediately, the conductor could have carried on with conducting. How difficult is this for you to understand?

[from the article] Conductor Alan Gilbert halted the performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony when the offending iPhone ringtone sounded -- and persisted -- a media contact at the symphony confirmed.

Note that word "persisted"? It was apparently more than a simple matter of the phone ringing a couple of times before the forgetful individual could turn it off. He must've just been letting it ring. That's not being forgetful.

John, sounds like you are unfamiliar with theatre etiquette. Sadly, you are not alone.

During a recent performance by Itzak Perlman, people who arrived late were shoving ushers aside because they refused to open the doors once he began playing. Every time someone barged into the theatre, Mr. Perlman stopped playing. After several occurrences of this he stopped, he glanced at his watch, then over to the offenders.

I applaud him, and Alan Gilbert, for not abiding rudeness. There is no excuse for disrupting a performance.

Yeah, classical symphonies and rock shows are exactly the same. Excellent point. One really expects the same demeanor at these two completely similar musical performances.

Except... rock shows are generally in bars or clubs, many of which serve alcohol and allow dancing, and there ARE no conductors. Nice try, though.

Slight misunderstanding here I have never seen a classic concert in a stadium, or seen a Rock concert with seats in a stadium with beer, in fact you will usually have to buy water there not bring it!--and the ticket prices are about the same!

"This conductor would never make it in rock and roll." Ummm ... What? It is difficult enough in this world to deal with the general state of ignorance, but you have taken absurdity to a distinct level.

There are some things - performing arts, reverential gatherings - where the experience requires an engaged attention. The Mahler Symphony is but one among many. The experience is why the audience attends. A cell phone ring tone breaks the experience. How would you like some stranger walking into your bedroom in the middle of sex and begin a conversation? Seem ridiculous? My point is, the cell phone should have been TURNED OFF.