Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) opened the door to springtime in European classical music. At the opening of the 19th century, the great German composer initiated what later would be called The Romantic Music Era, enhancing the forms and style developed by the great composers of the later part of the previous century, Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, by introducing a level of emotional expression that had not been attained by these great composers. Beethoven’s new music influenced the Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) and the German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856), as the classical music of the 19th century and the Romantic Era continued through the century, breathing a new life into the forms of music that had typified the proceeding classical era. Emotion, feeling, love… these were now enhanced in European classical music. There had been love songs before, and there had been sad songs, but no one had ever breathed emotion into music as did Beethoven. During his recitals, when he performed his new music, Women often burst into uncontrollable sobs, much to his embarrassment.