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By LINDA GREENHOUSESpccial to lh e Ne w York Times

WASHINGTON,Feb. 27 - Th e onlyproposition on which everyone at theUnited StatesSupremeCourt today ap-peared to agree was that rock music isloudmusic."Is there any such thing as quietrock music?" Justice Thurgood Mar-shall asked Leonard J. Koerner, NewYork City's chief assistant corporationcounsel."No," Mr, Koerner replied.But there was no agreementon whatthe constitution permits a city to doabout oud rock music. The questionbe-fore the Court - one of the more un-usual First Amendment issues o reachthe Justices - was the constitutional-ity of a New York City noise-control

freeexpression.Court hearsargumentsonBy contrast, Mr. Koerner, like Mr.Kunstler an experienced SupremeCourt practitioner, made a low-key,evensolemnpresenl tion.Justice John Paul Stevens chal-lenged him with a hypothetical ques-tion. "Supposea band's drummer ortrumpet player is much too oud," Jus-tice Stevenssaid. "Could the city say,'We can't control the sound, we'regoing to ge t our own drummer who'sjust as good,exactly the same?' "Mr . Koerner said that would be a"tougher case" because it would pu tthe city in the position of substitutingit s "aesthetic judgment" for that of theperlormers.New York City 's argument is that

the First Amendment does not recuireit to choosc he "least restr ictive'i ap -proach to sound regulation as long asthe methodchosen s reasonable.Pressing or Comparisons'

No member of the Court acknowl-edgepever having attendeda rock con-cert, but several Justices pressed thelawyers for comparisonsbetween ockbandsan dsymphony rchestras." ls the New York Philharmonic asloudas a rock band?" JusticeMarshallaskedMr. Kunstler.Replying that the Philharmoniccouid ;;,etquite loud "when the ketrle

drums get going," Mr . Kunstler beganto describe concerthe had attended."I'm sorry I asked," Justice Mar-shallsaid.The Court is expected to decide thecase,Ward v. Rock Against Racism,byearty summer.In other action, the Court reiected achallenge o the Times Square edevel-opment project. The court refused tohear arguments that traffic congestioncreated by office tower constructionwould prevent New York City fromcomplying with Federal air-qualitystandards.The decision clears the way for thebeginning of property condemnationproceedings,said Larry Josephs,aspokesman or the State-Urban'Devel-opment Corporation, which is sponsor-ing the project.

Supreme CourtAccord: RockMusic Is Loudregulation requiring musical perform-l has the right to limit the sound evel oferfat the Naumburg Bandshell n Cen-l concerts, the appeals court said, thetral Park to use a city-supplied soundl Constitutionpermits only the "least re -system and sound echnician. I strictive means available." City con-

The United states Court of Appeals l-1"1:l the "mix" of sounds that makefo r rhe Secondciicuit nu i lui"'ci tno, | 1! lh:Stlittic presentation s too intru-ln l ."g"r",i"" vrolated n" pe.io.m"rs'l sive' the appealscourt said'free-expression rights. wriii" ,tt" .itvl-,Tl: Supreme court accepted Ne w" I York's appeal ast October. n the hour'I ,mrufX"::i'"Xi'i?'"11i::$I unfamiliar conceptsike the roleof theI "soundmix" in a rockconcert.I t"t.. Koernersaid the regulation idI not threaten he performers' artisticI expressionbecause he city-suppliedI technician knew how to provide theI "mix" that eachbandwanted.| "So he soundechniciansnotas m-I portantas the conductorof a sympho-I ny?" Justice Anthony M. Kennedyl-I Continuedon Page 86, Column 3Loud Rock Music FindsJusticesUnanimous

ContinuedFrom Page Al tTt r aar ne supremeasked he city's lawyer."No, he's really a technician," Mr .Koerner replied.But William M. Kunstler, represent-ing Rock Against Racism, an organiza-tion of musical groups that challengedthe regulation, vigorously disagreed.The organization has staged an annualconcert at the bandshell since 1979."A conductor and the man that doesthe mix are very comparable," Mr.Kunstler said. He said New York City'seffort to substitute its technician for aband's own was "as if the city said thatwe're going to pu t Georg Solti in thereinstead of Zubi n Mehta because Soltiplays ondonte and dolce and Mehta al -ways plays loud."

Adoptlng a Folksy MannerMr. Kunstler, the well-known civilrights lawyer, addre ssed he Court in afolksy, almost familiar manner, andsome of the Justices esponded n kind.Justice Byron R. White asked himhow he reconciled his position with arecent Supreme Court decision hat up-held a ban on sleeping n a park nearthe White House."I don't agree" with that precedent,Mr. Kunstler said."I wouldn't think you would.,' JusticeWhiteshotbackwith a slighrsmile.When Justice Antonin Scalia ob-served at one point that "when I was ayoung man occasionally I was at par-ties ha t go ta l i tt le loud," Mr. Kunsrlerleaned forward and interiected' ' ' lsthis a confession?"

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The soundoi umrn,music.It seems$tartlingthatthe U.S. Suprcme Court is weighingtheloudness o.f rcck concerts in Central Pbrk The justices them-selves seerhed emused by the case when they heard oral argu-ments. Anton Scalia, a straight-arrow conservative, mentionedthat as a young man he had attended "parties that got a littleloud." Thurgood Marshall, a deepdyed liberal, wisecracked:"Is this a confession?"But the issue is serious. The plaintiff, a band ealled Rockdgainst Racism, claims New York City is violating its right offree speech. Any such charge deserves serious hearing.The "speech" in this case is music. But the courts recognizedlong ago that ideas can be expressed in more than words.The band plays annual eoneerts in Central Park - ueryLutdl!.The Parks Department issued several warnings, which were ig-nored. So it took over the volume dial. It ruled that its own teeh-nician must operate the sound mixer at band shell concerts.Doesn't RockAgainst Racism have the right to control its ownsound? Is government using its power to intmde on freespeech? Or is Parks merely setting reasonable .limits on theform qf the band's expression? The fact that two lower couftswent in opposite direetions shows ifs a close call.Still, ifs hard to believe the Suprcme Court will rule that theFirstAmendment includes the right to ampliff speech'to mind-numbing levels. Or in the colorful phrase of a Rock fuainstRacism engineer, to make listeners' "ears bleed." The court

ought to consider the point made by Parks Commissioner Hen-ry Stern: Yes. tle Constitution protects free speeeh. But it alsoprotects citizens against cruel and unusual punishment.