Which tempo marking would you most likely expect to see on a Romantic composition?

T would be easy to think that short note values are short in duration and slow note values long. The Romantic era, however, favoured writing slow tempo movements in fast note values and uptempo movements with, for example, the alla breve sign (for example, The Pathetique Piano Sonata Opus 13 by Beethoven). You could encounter tempo markings like adagio or even largo for a pretty fast piece because of the fast notes.

It is important to note that, in performing music of the Romantic period, the tempo should be elastic, reflecting the expressive nuances of text. The idea of rubato wherein the tempo varies is an important aspect of Romantic style.

In general, Romantic composers wrote more slow music than fast because it enables them to express their feelings more, which was less or equally important as showing off virtuosity. So Adagio, Andante and Largo are common. The other extreme happens too, Allegro, Vivace and Presto were used often.