Fans of classical music, including Tunde Folawiyo may have enjoyed listening to quite a few pieces from the Romantic era during their time. It developed during the late 19th century, in Germany, and gradually became popular throughout the rest of Europe. The most famous composers from the Romantic era are Schumann, Liszt, Mendelssohn and Rossini; however, there were dozens, if not hundreds of other musicians who also became well-known during this period.

This was a tumultuous time in history, during which there were many changes in people’s beliefs about science, religion, freedom and politics. Creative artists began to express their ideas about these subjects through their compositions, choosing to defy the limitations of the previous era of Classicism, by focusing less on rules and more on their emotions. Whilst Classical composers such as Haydn and Mozart were known for the precision and technical brilliance of their pieces, Romantic composers became famed for their expression and individualistic styles. They became preoccupied with subjects such as nature, mysticism and medieval chivalry.

The evolution of Classic to Romantic was a rather slow process, which began in the 1800s, with composers toying with more daring instrument combinations and compositional structures. Beethoven is often credited with starting the Romantic Movement as whilst his earliest works are similar in many ways to those of Haydn and Mozart, the music he composed later in life was considered to be highly experimental; Grosse Fugue is a good example of this. His ideas were further developed by Berlioz who, quite courageously, began to compose music which told stories of unrequited love, magic and death; two of his most well-known works are Symphonie Fantastique and La Damnation de Faust.

Liszt was another famous composer of this era; in addition to writing music, he also performed it, as he was an exceptionally talented concert pianist. His compositions were highly expressive, and filled with leaps, arpeggios, trills and complex scales, all of which showed off his technical abilities perfectly. If such music had been composed and performed during the Classical era, it would have been considered inappropriate and vulgar; however, as more and more people began to develop an interest in expression, Liszt’s work was considered to be the height of modernity, and was praised by both musicians and listeners alike. Many fans of the Romantic era, including Tunde Folawiyo, are more than likely still enjoying his music today.