A short introduction:

Romantic music is an era of Western classical music that began in the late 18th century.
 It is related to Romanticism, the European artistic and literary movement that arose in the second half of the 18th century, and Romantic music in particular dominated the Romantic movement in Germany. In the Romantic period, music became more expressive and emotional, expanding to encompass literary, artistic, and philosophical themes.  At the end of the 19th century the Romantic style was starting to break apart, moving along various parallel courses, such as Impressionism and Post-romanticism. In the 20th century, the different styles that emerged from the music of the previous century influenced composers to follow new trends, sometimes as a reaction to that music, sometimes as an extension of it, and both trends co-existed well into the 20th century.

 

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fantasy Op17

Robert Schumann was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. Schumann had considerable influence in the nineteenth century and beyond, despite his adoption of more conservative modes of composition after his marriage. He left an array of acclaimed music in virtually all the forms then known. The Fantasy  Op. 17, was written in 1836. It was revised prior to publication in 1839, when it was dedicated to Franz Liszt. It is generally described as one of Schumann's greatest works for solo piano, and is one of the central works of the early Romantic period.

 

 Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Le baiser de l'Enfant-Jésus

Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically and melodically it often uses modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations. Messiaen also drew on his Roman Catholic faith for his pieces. Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus is a suite of 20 pieces for solo piano.
 The work is a meditation on the infancy of Jesus, and the French title translates roughly as "Twenty contemplations on the infant Jesus". Le baiser de l'Enfant-Jésus ("The kiss of the Infant Jesus") is number 15 of the work

 

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Piano Sonata No.2 Op.36

 Rachmaninoff was a Russian pianist, composer, and conductor of the late-Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the classical repertoire.
Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers gave way to a personal style notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument. The Sonata No. 2 Op36 demonstrates in abundance those qualities of Rachmaninov's art that make his music permanently appealing, hence valuable, and great.