while all this was happening there were some composers who continued to write in a style which was basically romantic. edward elgar ‘s music is often described as “edwardian” (from the period of king edward vii). other british composers of the time were also inspired by english folkmusic, i.e. ralph vaughan williams, george butterworth, roger quilter and gerald finzi. frederick delius wrote romantic music which was also quite impressionistic. the russian sergei rachmaninoff and the german richard strauss continued to write in a romantic style until their deaths in the 1940s. the finnish composer jean sibelius and the dane carl nielsen wrote great symphonies which were still in a tonal style, and in italy puccini was writing operas in a romantic style, often called “verismo” (“like real life”).