Aus Italien

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Aus Italien, op. 16 (From Italy) is a tone poem for full orchestra composed by Richard Strauss in 1886. It was inspired by the composer's visit to Italy (encouraged by Brahms) in the summer of the same year, where he travelled to Rome, Bologna, Naples, Sorrento, Salerno, and Capri. He began to sketch the work while still on the journey.

The full score of the work, Strauss's first tone poem, was completed in Munich on September 12, 1886. The work is named by the composer as 'Symphonic Fantasy', and is dedicated to his mentor Hans von Bülow. It is the only work by Richard Strauss for which he himself wrote a specific program. The entire work takes over forty minutes to perform.

1 Structure
2 Premières
3 Discography (Performances of the Full Score Only)
4 Unintentional plagiarism
5 References

[edit] Structure

The piece is in 4 movements:

Auf der Campagna. (In the Campagne) Andante
In Roms Ruinen. (In the Ruins of Rome) Allegro molto con brio
Am Strande von Sorrent. (On the Shores of Sorrento) Andantino
Neapolitanisches Volksleben. (Neapolitan Life) Allegro molto

[edit] Premières

The first performance of the work took place in Munich on March 2, 1887 by the Court Orchestra which was conducted by the composer himself. As Richard Strauss's sister Johanna later recalled, the first three movements were received with applause, but the last movement was not well-approved and derisory whistles came from various quarters. Norman Del Mar's biography of the composer tells a different story: the first three movements were not well received, and the final was accorded booing and applause. Strauss himself found the work itself as new and revolutionary, and he was satisfied despite the critical responses for the première.

The first American performance was on December 21, 1888 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

[edit] Discography (Performances of the Full Score Only)

Conductor	Orchestra	Recorded
Arthur Rother	Symphony Orchestra of Radio Berlin	1949
Clemens Krauss	Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra	1953
Henry Swoboda	Vienna Symphony Orchestra	1953
Otakar Trhlík	Ostrava State Philharmonic Orchestra (Janácek Philharmonie)	1971?
Rudolf Kempe	Staatskapelle Dresden	1974
Neeme Järvi	Scottish National Orchestra	1988
Vladimir Ashkenazy	Cleveland Orchestra	1989
Riccardo Muti	Berliner Philharmoniker	1989
Zdenek Kosler	Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra	1990
David Zinman	Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich	2000

There is also a recording of the two piano version, with the duo pianists Begonia-Uriarte Mrongovius and Karl-Hermann Mrongovius recorded in 1985.

[edit] Unintentional plagiarism

The most controversial movement is of course the Finale, which Strauss claimed to be based on, as the title suggests, "a well known Neapolitan folk song, and in addition a tarantella (he) had heard in Sorrento." Strauss did not know that the "folk song" he heard was indeed a popular tune Funiculì, Funiculà composed by the Italian composer Luigi Denza in 1880. To his great embarrassment, Strauss realised his mistake when an angry Denza filed a lawsuit against him. Denza won the lawsuit, and Strauss was forced to pay him a royalty fee every time Aus Italien was performed in public.