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Musicians are fighting to be exempted from a
European Union directive to reduce workplace noise
levels, which will require hundreds of pieces of
classical music to be played more quietly or not
at all.
Musicians are dismissing the draft
directive, agreed by Britain
and other EU states in 2002, as nonsensical, although it is receiving
its second reading in the European
Parliament. Libby McNamara, director of the
Association of British Orchestras, said "It
will virtually stop us playing any loud music
whatsoever."
The Parliament wants to reduce
the decibel limit to 83, the point at which
workers must wear hearing protection. Britain and
the EU member states have agreed an 85-decibel
limit without earplugs and 87 with them. The
agreed position is that the decibels can be
measured over a week.
A spokesman for the Culture Secretary, said they would
take their lead from the Health and Safety
Executive. The HSE in turn expressed sympathy for
musicians and entertainers if the European
Parliament's amendments go ahead. But a spokesman
said, "Noise is noise. It doesn't matter
whether it's Tchaikovsky or a power
drill."
He argued that musicians will be
able to comply with the limits because the noise
levels can be averaged over a week but he
confirmed that Britain was opposing the latest
amendments because they included deleting the
weekly average.
Alison Wright Reid, an
occupational health and safety specialist with
expertise in musicians' hearing, said that a
single trumpet can reach up to 130 decibels
instantaneously. "This will make classics
unplayable", she said. "Musicians simply
wouldn't be allowed to play them all, including
the EU's Anthem, the finale of Beethoven's
Ninth."
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