Acclaimed Bla Kliem home concerts silenced after neighbour’s 'noise' complaint

An acclaimed Senglea residence known for hosting classical concerts has been forced to cancel events after a neighbour lodged criminal complaints about “noise” from performances, even though they end by 9pm.

Bla Kliem is a fully permitted performance and rehearsal space hosted in the ground floor of a house owned by music enthusiast Khoen Liem.

After settling in Malta, the Dutch-Indonesian national turned part of his home into a mini concert venue for an audience of 40 people. The space is offered at no cost to musicians. 

He is now facing criminal charges after a neighbour complained about the noise, forcing him to cancel scheduled concerts.

While a court on November 10 acquitted him of the charges, a further complaint was lodged from the same neighbours about a concert held on November 3 when a young piano student was playing.

In a statement, Liem said a meeting at the Cospicua police station is now scheduled on November 27 and he will be accompanied by his lawyer.

He pointed out that Bla Kliem has a PA approval (PA/01120/23) to be used for music and arts tuition.

“The PA has recently inspected the venue,” Liem said, adding that a PA certificate of conformity is being requested through the architect.

Since its launch, Bla Kliem has hosted several concerts. The venue has two grand pianos, one more suited to classical performances, the other to jazz, and state-of-the-art lighting.

Some of the most recent concerts have been used to raise funds for the Malta Trust Foundation and former president Marie Louise Coleiro Preca attended one of the events on October 14.

Liem said he was planning to raise more funds for the Villa Bianca Music Centre for children with disabilities and autism.

“However, I cannot have the situation of being criminally charged each time the same neighbour calls the Cospicua police station, when we have a musical activity at Bla Kliem. I believe the complaints are not justified,” he said.

The concerts typically start at 7.30pm and the music stops at 9pm, well before the 11pm limit set by law.

Liem also pointed out the walls between his 400-year-old house and that of his neighbour are some 84cm thick.

“Such wall construction should absorb the music sound sufficiently.”

Music enthusiast Khoen Liem said the repeated complaints were unjustified and constituted harassment.

'Absurd and unethical'

While he conceded that acoustic works have been done at Bla Kliem to produce optimal sound with the installation of many acoustic absorbers, he said he was “sure that the musical activities there do not exceed reasonable noise levels in a residential area”.

“Their continuing calls to the police should be considered harassment,” Liem added.

Musician Abbey Grech, who was due to perform as part of a duo with Noel Curmi on Saturday, announced their concert was being postponed because of these charges.

In an impassioned Facebook post, Grech said she found the situation “rather absurd and unethical”.

“I am disgusted and embarrassed at such behaviour in a country where construction noise and noise pollution from parties going on until 4am are tolerated but a couple of piano notes being played within decent hours by an aspiring young musician is deemed criminal,” Grech said.