Most of Ottorino Respighi's musical studies were undertaken in Italy. But in 1900, he went to St. Petersburg as first violist in the Russian Imperial Theater and took the opportunity to study orchestration with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. He developed a masterful technique in the use of instrumental colors and sonorities, making him one of the most imaginative orchestrators of the first part of the twentieth century. Firmly rooted in the late-Romantic tradition, he maintained this style with only marginal influence from the revolutionary changes in music that occurred during his lifetime. 

Outside Italy, Respighi is known primarily for two styles of composition. The first, and most famous, are such sumptuous orchestral showpieces as the three Roman tone poems, starting with The Fountains of Rome; the other comprises works based on seventeenth-century melodies, occasionally incorporating more modern harmonies, such as the three suites of Ancient Airs and Dances. His songs and instrumental works for small ensemble are practically unknown here.

Respighi composed the Poema autunnale in 1925, headed by a hyper-romantic statement: "A sweet melancholy pervades the poet's feelings, but a joyful vintner's song and the rhythm of a Dionysic dance disturb his reverie. Fauns and Bacchanates disperse at the appearance of Pan, who walks alone through fields under a gentle rain of golden leaves." The premiere, in Berlin, was not a success, and Respighi considered withdrawing it.