Emotions are more important. Musical storytelling was also popular. The tone poem was a new musical form which told a story. Many of the Romantic period's stories, art, and music were about exotic places and fantastic events . Tone color also became more important.
Tone color is a special sound that makes an instrument or voice sound different from another.
New instruments created exciting new tone colors . Old instruments were played in new ways to produce different tone colors . The Romantic period was the age of the virtuoso . The most famous of these piano virtuosos was Franz Liszt . He was as popular as today's rock stars.