Article in The Star Online Malaysia
"A musical marriage.....!"
The Star Online Malaysia, January 2008
By PATSY KAM

WHEN you think of famous actors or singers who worked in pairs, names like Laurel and Hardy; Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel; and OutKast
(Dre aka Andre 3000 and Big Boi) easily come to kind.

In the world of classical music, however, it takes a different kind of skill and frame of mind to be able to play as a duo. In some ways, it's easier to excel as a soloist as you don't have to anticipate your partner's move or rely on someone else to make you sound good.

But if you manage to find a compatible partner to complement your music, the result can be magical. Classical guitarists Peter Thissen and Frank Lamm, who form Duolisme, have years of practice playing together. After a while, when you're so familiar with each other's playing style, you can almost tell what the other will do next, said Thissen, 37.

"It's a musical marriage. Just as couples work to keep the relationship going, that's how it is playing the classical guitar together. Not only do you learn and grow together musically, your personalities must also be able to get along," he added.

The Dutch pair Duolisme performed in Kuala Lumpur recently together (end November) with the Kuala Lumpur Guitar Ensemble (KLGE) II from the Classical Guitar Society. The concert featured the local piece Tanah Pusaka (originally composed by Datuk Ahmad Merican) arranged by society president Simon Cheong for the classical guitar, performed by the KLGEII as well as the premiere of Gary Ryan's Dreams, Rest and Motion played by Duolisme, among others.

Lamm was encouraged by his aunt to pick up the guitar at age 11while Thissen, who had already been taking piano lessons as a child, fell in love with the classical guitar after a concert and took up lessons when he was 17.

The couple first met in 1991 in the corridors of the Brabrants Conservatorium in Holland. Drawn together by a shared passion for the classical guitar, the pair embarked on a course characterised by rehearsing, learning, studying and making music. In 1995, they decided on the name Duolisme for their subtle ensemble playing.

Apart from performing musicians, they also work as guitar teachers and run a music school together. Duolisme have performed in countries like Turkey, Switzerland, Germany and Britain. They have come up with three albums thus far and will be producing their fourth this year.

Their performances, said Lamm, 38, always carry a balance of classical and contemporary pieces which audiences can identify with. One of their signature acts which they always include towards the end of their show is having the two of them plucking away on the same guitar.

"It's a little comical and a chance for (us to have) a bit of fun. We try to reach different audiences as everyone has different levels of music appreciation. We're just 'telling stories' through our playing," added the good-natured Lamm, who have two children, ages two and four.

Of the two, Thissen is the planner and together, they make a formidable team. Much like the renowned classic guitar duo Mark Eden and Christopher Stell whom they look up to, it was a joy to watch Duolisme communicate through music as they demonstrated a distinct rapport through their ease of playing and co-ordination.

"One of our main philosophies is to have fun when we're playing and we try to use techniques that introduce the element of fun while teaching our students. That way, they enjoy the instrument and it doesn't become tedious or a chore," said Thissen.

He explained that Lamm is often the one who looks for the small beautiful details while playing while he's the one who looks at the big picture and keeps the rhythm going. And to think he almost ended up as an engineer after college!

Thissen emphasised that the classical guitar is quite difficult to master as it's delicate and a very personal instrument. In fact, he prefers smaller audience to huge stadium crowds as "the guitar has a small sound" and he feels they can interact better with the listeners. They hope to bring back a bit of Malaysia with them, and introduce the piece Tanah Pusaka to Dutch audiences in their future performances.

New quote.......
"Duolisme, their playing is beautifull expressive, energetic, harmonicly with a wonderfull musicality.
A duo to enjoy!"
Nathasja van Rosse, march 2007

Reviews Classical guitarmagazine 2005

Retratos

"The Albeniz is beautifully played………."

"The Gnattali is one of the pieces from the Suite
Retratos and they play this one beautifully"

"The final Brouwer arrangements of three Beatles pieces are simply the best……."

Ornamenten

Bach Partita.."it sound perfectly natural on two guitars and any technical difficulties
are quitly ignored…………."

"So yet again this duo have produced a wonderful CD of great music
The recording is exceedingly clear and performances firstrate"

"..it is heartening to hear Rameau sounding so effective on two: this is a wonderful
work arranged most winningly by Frank Lamm"

Identical twins on twelve strings:

Brabants Dagblad -Thuesday April 26 2005-
by Rinus van der Heijden

Two guitarists, each with his own instrument. But for Frank Lamm and Peter Thissen two guitars with six strings each are no longer enough. They think only in terms of twelve strings.

Both work as guitar teachers at the Centre for Music and Dance in Waalwijk. They are also musical partners; they have been for thirteen years. They rehearse together, play together, and think together. They are also in business together: Frank Lamm and Peter Thissen united in the guitar duo Duolisme.
Although both enjoy their work at the Waalwijk School of Music, they also want to develop their business skills. They made a start with the simultaneous release of two CDs: Retratos and Ornamenten. The former has a Spanish and South American flavour, but also includes a short Lennon & McCartney medley; the latter contains baroque music only. It is a typical example of their wish not to be pigeonholed.
Frank Lamm and Peter Thissen met during their study at the Brabant School of Music (now Fontys School of Music) in Tilburg. “We met by chance and wondered aloud if we could not play together. Music schools are all about playing solo whereas playing as a duo gives you more options. We hit it off straight away”, they recall. Now, all their musical activities are done together.

Without words

“We think entirely as a duo. Knowing how the other thinks and reacts, without using words. Many people think that when two solo players get together, you have a duo. But in our case it is different. Look at it this way: if I had been a pianist, I would have learnt to play the left hand and Frank the right hand, or the other way round. When we play, we pick things up from each other, imitate them in our own way, and then blend them together”, says Peter Thissen.
To put it more succinctly, the duo wants to sound as one. For example, when learning new work, Frank Lamm will look for details and will already have a clear idea of the end result. Peter Thissen will first familiarise himself with the material before taking any subsequent steps. “The end result will be the same, but the different approach gives the duo its individual character.”

Good and bad

This duo concept really goes very far. “Besides having our students play solo, we also quite often let them perform as duos. It allows you to explore a much wider musical range. When we teach, we mainly use the guitar as a harmony instrument. We no longer think in terms of six strings, only in twelve. For us, two guitars are as one single instrument.”
The same applies to the music in general: here again it is the duo idea that prevails. “To us, there are only two kinds of music: good music and bad music”. This concept is particularly apparent during concerts. “We play everything from memory. We communicate much better without sheet music because it requires much more concentration. And of course, it also makes you look good; the listener sees the music, as it were. And there won’t be any music stands getting in the way either. We have a large core repertoire, which means we have to study every day. We often rehearse a certain piece and then ‘put it in the fridge’, so to speak. Time passes and then when we pick it up again, something has changed.”
The breadth of the duo’s repertoire is apparent from the three CDs the two musicians have released so far. The first one from 2000, La Guitarra Poética, is a ‘recital’ CD, with a programme of classical, romantic, Spanish and modern music, such as the duo also plays in concerts. The other two discs, which were recently released simultaneously, are quite a different story. “The idea was to record a double CD, from Bach to Beatles. In practice, it appeared to be impossible to do two very different things during one set of recording sessions, because it is hard to remain concentrated for the time this takes. So, last year we went to England and recorded the CDs separately. We decided to record a baroque CD and one with a Spanish and South American flavour, which we released as Ornamenten and Retratos respectively.”

Ornaments and Portraits

The first CD includes harpsichord music by Bach, Rameau and Scarlatti – with all its intricate ornamentation skilfully transferred by Lamm and Thissen to their twelve guitar strings. For the second CD, they took a title used by one of its featured composers, the Brazilian Radamés Gnattali. ‘Retratos’ is Portuguese for ‘Portraits’ – a fitting name for a CD that is full of music evoking images of people or places. Good examples are the three songs ‘Fool on the Hill’, ‘Penny Lane’ and ‘She’s Leaving Home’ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. “That’s why they fit perfectly on this CD”, they say with a smile.
They are already working on plans for new CDs. “On our next CD we intend to have only classical music – preferably Mozart. Another plan is to collect music from our favourite films and to release it on a CD. But that’s looking ahead three years.”


What the press say:

'An exceptional guitar duo'
Eindhovens Dagblad

'The music was elegant, with beautifully flowing melody lines. The acoustics of the small church (where the concert took place) made the strings soar. Every nuance of the performance could be clearly heard'.
Brabants Dagblad

'A stunning performance of the grandiose, extremely profound, introvert Sarabande by Johann Sebastian Bach. As far as timing and musical 'breathing' are concerned, there is nothing you can teach these born performers'.
Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant PZC

'Sublime ensemble by this guitar duo. During the second part, a shop alarm outside the church went off. But the quality of playing did not suffer and all irritation dissolved in a standing ovation.'
AMIGO, independent daily for the Dutch Antilles

'Duolisme succeeds in making two guitars sound like a complete unit, while their creative musicality gives the compositions an extra dimension!'
Emiel van Dijk

Quotes:

'A special guitarduo'
Eindhovens Dagblad

'Frank and Peter are not just like two virtuosi playing together by chance, but as friends that complement and perfect each other in their guitar-playing. They perform a well thought-out programme, logical, spatial and well played. Congratulations!'
Raphaëlla Smits

'Frank and Peter are both excellent players in their own right and together they bring beauty and excitement to the Music they play a talented guitar duo. Congratulations!'
David Russell

'Frank Lamm and Peter Thissen understand each other perfectly and know how to make use of each others qualities very well.
The ensemble is flawless and is proof of a great harmony in interpretation'
Hein Sanderink

'Duolisme guitar duo have exquisite phrasing and a beautiful sensitivity of touch'
The Eden-Stell Guitar Duo

'Excellent sound....very nice pieces! A very good debut-cd"
Amadeus guitarduo over ‘la Guitarra Poética’ 

'Duolisme slaagt erin 2 gitaren als een sonore eenheid te laten klinken en met hun creatieve muzikaliteit composities een extra dimensie mee te geven!'
Emiel van Dijk

Quotes (in general):

'The beauty of a guitar tone is in it's essence of dying away after plugging the string.. imagine this with two guitars'
John Williams

'What can be more beautiful than one guitar..? Two guitars!!'
Alexander Lagoya

'People often think that a guitar duo is two instuments, It's not, it's just one..'
Christopher Stell

'Playing duo gives much more satisfaction than solo guitar. Musical communication between two players is something special one can not get by playing alone'
Peter Thissen

'Two guitars: a marvellous experience!'
Frank Lamm