In the South (Alassio), Op. 50, is a concert overture composed by Edward Elgar during a family holiday in Italy in the winter of 1903 to 1904. He was working on a symphony, but the local atmosphere inspired him instead to write what some have seen as a tone poem, with an Italian flavour. At about 20 minutes' duration it was the composer's longest sustained orchestral piece to that time. The work was premiered in London in 1904. It is less often heard in concert than some other Elgar pieces, but has received many recordings. Background and first performance After years of struggle, by 1903 Elgar had become well known. A three-day festival of his music was planned for March the following year at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in the presence of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. It was an open secret that Elgar was planning to compose a symphony for the festival. He intended to work on it while holidaying in Italy over Christmas 1903. He and his wife and daughter stayed first at Bordighera and then at the Villa San Giovanni, Alassio. Inspiration for the symphony eluded him, but the local atmosphere – "the thoughts and sensations of one beautiful afternoon in the Vale of Andora" – gave him the ideas for a concert overture. He later recalled: The work is dedicated "To my friend Leo F. Schuster", the driving force behind the 1904 Elgar Festival. The premiere was given by the Hallé Orchestra on 16 March 1904, the third day of the festival. It was to have been conducted by Hans Richter, who was in charge for the rest of the concert, but as Elgar did not have the score ready in time for Richter to study it before the performance, Elgar conducted the orchestra himself. The first American performance was given by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Theodore Thomas on 4 November 1904. Walter Damrosch conducted the New York premiere the following day. Arthur Nikisch introduced the work to German audiences in Berlin on 2 December 1904, and it was given in Vienna in March 1905, Cologne, under Fritz Steinbach, the following month, and Prague the following year. Analysis The work is written for a full symphony orchestra comprising 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, 3