A symphony concert in Cincinnati came to a sudden halt Saturday night - thanks to a front-row patron who refused to stop recording.

An audience member in the front row of a performance by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, performing with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, was recording Mutter on her phone. With the phone such a few feet from her face, Mutter stopped the performance and asked the woman to stop.

Instead of stopping, the woman attempted to engage Mutter in a conversation. The audience was stunned. The orchestra stopped playing, symphony officials said.

CSO President Jonathan Martin was a few rows back and took charge. He told The Enquirer he never got a good answer about why the woman was recording the performance and he'd been thinking about it ever since.

"Everyone expected her to put her phone back in her purse, but instead she stood up and started talking to the soloist," Martin said. "I was forced to go and defuse the situation or lose the performance and soloist -- and perhaps the whole weekend."

Former Enquirer reporter Janelle Gelfand, who now writes for the Cincinnati Business Courier, was reviewing the performance when the woman interrupted the Beethoven Violin Concerto. "The orchestra ground to a halt," Gelfand said.

Gelfand described the confrontation as lasting several minutes, with Mutter telling the woman, "Either I will leave, or you will put away your phone and recording device."

That's when Martin said he reached the woman, escorting her out.

Tickets, the orchestra's website and signs posted make clear no recording is allowed. In fact, it's written into the artist's contracts, Martin said.

Martin walked the woman out.

"It was confusing, her logic," Martin said. "The conversation was not productive. I had to ask her to leave. It was very awkward. I never want to be in that position."

The woman did express respect for the soloist, despite her actions, Martin said.

"I have been thinking about it since," Martin said. "Why would she do this? I don't know."

The woman did show Martin her phone and had deleted the recording.

"It's a balancing act," Martin said. "We want audience members to feel comfortable. But there is a social contract. You're there with 2,000 other people. Performers expect to come to the stage without interruption."

While Martin dealt with the woman, Mutter resumed playing, started the movement over, earning Gelfand's praise.