Simplicity without banality, wit that avoids parody, charm that doesn’t cloy, and forms that offer clarity without stiffness: these are the hallmarks of the classical style. Composers either have it or they don’t, and it doesn’t matter one bit if we’re talking about Mozart and Haydn, or as here, Martinu. He had it in spades! Take the marvelous Concerto for Two Violins of 1950: if the slow movement doesn’t crystallize all that’s most appealing in a “classical style”–the tunefulness, elegance, sweetness, and sophistication–then we must reconsider the meaning of the term. There’s even a delicious formal surprise, when the same movement’s principal theme, speeded up, does double-duty for the finale.
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.
