• 16 years ago
• Posted in:Uncategorized
• 0
• Author: Astrofiammante
• Tags: eurocracy

Here’s an incredible tale from The New York Times – an orchestra falling foul of European health and safety legislation on noise. I knew that sitting in front of the brass section could be a hazard, but it turns out to be vastly more complex than that:

No Fortissimo? Symphony Told to Keep It Down

LONDON — They had rehearsed the piece only once, but already the musicians at the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra were suffering. Their ears were ringing. Heads throbbed.

Tests showed that the average noise level in the orchestra during the piece, “State of Siege,” by the composer Dror Feiler, was 97.4 decibels, just below the level of a pneumatic drill and a violation of new European noise-at-work limits. Playing more softly or wearing noise-muffling headphones were rejected as unworkable.

So instead of having its world premiere on April 4, the piece was dropped. “I had no choice,” said Trygve Nordwall, the orchestra’s manager. “The decision was not made artistically; it was made for the protection of the players.”

The cancellation is, so far, probably the most extreme consequence of the new law, which requires employers in Europe to limit workers’ exposure to potentially damaging noise and which took effect for the entertainment industry this month. Read full story here…