As well as symphonies, the tone poem and descriptive overture were popular as pieces of stand-alone orchestral music that evoked anything from a painting or poem to a feeling of nationalistic fervour.

Composers added chromatic notes to their chords and melodies to make their music more expressive. In the slow movement of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, the opening flute melody ...

although the music is clearly in a minor key. The slow middle section boasts the long lyrical melodies that are associated with Frederic Chopin and the Romantic period.