Extending the bounds of music beyond the restrictive formality of Classicism was the prime function of the musical period known as Romanticism. Formal concern, intellectuality and concise expression have now been augmented by sentiment, imagination and effect.

The period of Romanticism, heralded in the late works (ex., string quartets, symphonies, piano sonatas) of Ludwig van Beethoven and culminates in "Impressionism" (Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, etc.), a transitional trend which, with the innovations of the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, forms the beginnings of music in the 20^th century.