Please turn down the orchestra

Orchestras have become much, much louder since the 18th century. And the process has gathered pace dramatically since the Second World War. We have reached the point where brass instruments exceed permitted industrial noise levels. Orchestral players are advised, or instructed, to wear earplugs, and with good reason. Musicians are being deafened by music.

It is an absurd situation. The oboist of one world-class orchestra confesses that he can no longer hear the leader's violin solos in Scheherazade. A fiddler in the Chicago Symphony, an ensemble that possesses a famously aggressive brass section, admits to wearing a hearing aid specially designed for classical musicians. Others are reluctant to break cover, fearing the obvious supposition: that if they can't hear properly, they can't play properly. Working in a professional orchestra has impaired the physical attribute that took them there in the first place. [read more]

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