Duarte became well-known primarily after winning the 1975 Serge Koussevitzky International Conducting Competition.
Most of the music Duarte chooses to conduct is by Heitor Villa-Lobos and other prominent Brazilian composers.
Duarte has also released new editions of some of Villa-Lobos's orchestral works, including the Descobrimiento do Brasil suites and Rudá.
In addition, Duarte was a professor of conducting at the Escola de Música da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro for almost 30 years, serving as the conductor of that institution's main symphony orchestra.
In 1996, Duarte was awarded the Prêmio Nacional da Música by the Brazilian government.