“Orchestras might be forced by European law to play music more quietly, according to a leading British musicians body.

“The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) is fighting to be exempted from a European directive under consideration that would place limits on noise in the workplace,” the BBC reports.

The directive has already been agreed by Britain and other EU member states and will receive a second reading in parliament later this month.

The parliament wants to reduce the decibel limit of noise in the workplace to 83, the point at which workers have to wear hearing protection.

A single trumpet is said to play up to 130 decibels and the ABO fears that the directive would effectively silence performances.

Libby MacNamara, director of the ABO, told BBC News Online: ‘It will stop us playing any loud music whatsoever, affecting almost of all of the pieces played by orchestras.’

Question: does this “directive” apply to the shrieking anti-Americanism in the European press, as well?

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