The Duo Concertante for two violins and orchestra dates back to Martinu's "Paris" period (the late 1920s and 1930s), and ranks with such masterpieces as the Concerto Grosso, Sinfonietta Giocosa, Concerto for String Quartet, and Sinfonia concertante. It has the same spiky harmonies and motor rhythms, and together with the Concerto for Two Violins constitutes the most important body of work for violin duo since the double concerto of Bach. These are marvelous works, in short, finely played by both soloists and particularly well conducted Marcello Viotti, who has Martinu's syncopated rhythmic style firmly in hand. Violinist Jan Pospichal also gets a chance to shine solo in the Violin Concerto No. 2 of 1943, a warmly Romantic piece immortalized by Joseph Suk on his Supraphon recording. I wouldn't say this version eclipses that effort, but it's certainly not second rate in any way. Pospichal's contribution has plenty of personality allied to a fresh, singing tone.

Sonically I would have preferred a bit more separation of the two soloists in the double concertos, as they both tend to hang out in the left channel, but the recording does reveal plenty of detail while preserving a natural sense of instrumental balance. The Duo Concertante is a CD recording premiere; the Concerto for Two Violins is almost one (there's an inferior, difficult-to-find performance led by Rozhdestvensky floating around somewhere). All in all, this disc must be counted one of the gems of the Arte Nova catalog.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com