Cellphone Calls at a Concert Are a Pain, but Stopping a Concert Is Worse.
When musicians stop concerts because a cellphone ring--example include Christian Zacharias and Alan Gilbert--or unfortunately timed cough they are being disrespectful for both the music and the audience as a whole.
I've been at concerts where I've had to put up with an errant beep or hack, and although they were annoying, the disruptions have always been quick and minor. What I've never wanted is to have a show come to a complete stop, to completely halt the continuity of a piece I'm following. Behavior like Zacharias's and Gilbert's puts their own egos above that broader experience of a piece.
I've been at concerts where I've had to put up with an errant beep or hack, and although they were annoying, the disruptions have always been quick and minor. What I've never wanted is to have a show come to a complete stop, to completely halt the continuity of a piece I'm following. Behavior like Zacharias's and Gilbert's puts their own egos above that broader experience of a piece.