Sir John Rutter (b.1945)
Reflections
Celebration Overture (2023)
Reflections (1979)
Four Miniatures for Orchestra (2021)
Cityscapes (1974)
Elegy (2025)
Steven Osborne (piano, Reflections and Elegy)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir John Rutter
rec. 2021/25, Sinfonia Smith Square, London
Decca 4871478 [71]

Practically everyone knows John Rutter’s choral music, especially his Christmas carols. This CD is devoted to a less well-known side of the composer: his orchestral works.  The so-called “Beatles Concerto”, a medley of Beatles’ songs arranged for piano and orchestra, has been recorded, as has the Partita (now known as Cityscapes). The other pieces here are new to Rutter’s discography. As most of his music, the works are light and tuneful, except the Elegy.

The programme begins with a Celebration Overture Rutter composed for the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra’s twenty-fifth anniversary. From the sound of church bells ringing, the music proceeds to a typical Rutter Christmas carol-type tune by the full orchestra. It is unmistakably Rutter in his lightest, pop mood. There are contrasting meditative sections by the strings and later passages with solo oboe and horn, as well as a short, jaunty bassoon solo.  Well-crafted but with a rather trite ending, the work would still make a good concert opener.

Rutter originally wrote the Four Miniatures for Orchestra for solo guitar. He felt they would also work well for small orchestra, so he arranged them for that medium. The Introduction, rhythmic and brassy, reminds me of Copland with its notable trumpet part. The second miniature is a Chanson triste, a romantic ballad featuring strings, harp and woodwinds. The songful Lullaby is led by oboe, with harp accompanying; later, clarinet leads and then flute. The horn also gets the theme; with its harp and woodwinds, it sounds a little like Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande. The finale, Dance to your daddy, is folk-song-based. Brass, headed by solo trumpet, feature here in folkish music with syncopated rhythms.  Slower and jaunty sections alternate, and the work concludes without undue fanfare. It makes for pleasant listening and is very well orchestrated.

More substantial is the three-movement Cityscapes with its descriptive titles. The first city is the Big Apple. It lives up to its name. The work begins with arresting horns in a brassy Coplandesque theme. There is a quieter, lyrical section before the music becomes jazzy. “Gershwin” enters after 2:35 with a clear reference to American in Paris. A violin solo appears later, followed by more syncopated, rhythmic sounds building to a climax. The bluesy, Gershwinesque music returns, and the movement concludes on loud chords in the brass.

The next movement, Lost City, is a reference to Atlantis – and quite a contrast to Big Apple. It is atmospheric and mysterious, establishing an unsettling mood of uncertainty. This mood is beautifully accomplished by muted horn, harp and trumpet. The music gets rather dark, with forceful chords in the bass of the orchestra, and is dissonant at times.

Flowers of Cities All,the final movement, refers of course to London. This tuneful section enters by means of a Waltonian fanfare before it becomes light and breezy. There is a  theme in the style of Malcolm Arnold at 2:50, where the trombone tune is very reminiscent of that composer. After about three minutes of “Arnold”, Walton reappears on the brass with jagged rhythms. The movement ends on a short, forceful chord. Cityscapes may be rather derivative, but it is a memorable and enjoyable piece nonetheless.

The main attraction on this disc, though, is Reflections, a twenty-five-minute piano concerto in three movements preceded by an orchestral Prelude. It was Rutter’s response to a Hemel Hempstead Arts Festival commission. He engaged no less than Steven Osborne as pianist for this recording. Like in everything he does, Osborne’s pianism here is superlative.

Solo horn starts the quiet Prelude, followed by harp and other instruments. It builds impressively in its conservative Romantic manner until the brass with trumpets climax after 2:30, and then it settles down with harp and horn. The piano enters about a half-minute later as the beginning of the second movement, Toccata. The virtuosic piano part is accompanied by low percussion and double bass. The movement really comes to life after 4:30, when the rhythmical toccata takes off. The piano has blue notes and can be quite touching in a Hollywood sort of way. There is also a jazzy, march-like section reminiscent of Ravel’s concertos.

The third movement is a pensive and dreamy Interlude in 5/4 time. Not all quiet, it becomes quite forceful. The Interlude contains some blues in the harmony, and has a big, swooning tune that recalls Rachmaninov. Yet there is also a simplicity about it, especially in the slow, songful piano writing. The last movement, Finale alla burlesca, does not conceal its jazz influences from Boogie Woogie, Keystone Cops, to Gershwin’s Concerto in F. The trombones make their mark, as the mood of the Roaring Twenties continues. The fun frolic concludes briefly and satisfyingly, Osborne and the orchestra must have had a ball playing this work.

Elegy, the last on the programme, could not be of greater contrast. Originally it was a movement intended for the piano concerto. Rutter discarded it because it did not fit in well with the rest of the concerto. In 2025, he resurrected it as a standalone piece. Elegy is around six minutes of dark, somber dissonance. One would not immediately recognize it as Rutter. It has a virtuosic piano part, but just stops. It seems more like a fragment to me.

Overall, I found this orchestral music interesting and fun. For the most part, it belongs to the tradition of British Light Music. In the liner note, Rutter readily admits to borrowings from other composers. The works get first-rate performances under Rutter’s direction. The sonics are also excellent.  For Rutter fans who want to see a different side of the composer, this disc is the place to start; I will likely return to it. Yet it is Rutter’s carols and such choral masterpieces as the Requiem and Gloria that I will continue to associate with him above all.

Leslie Wright

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