It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and is often performed by the composer at events known as "Salons".
Salon compositions are usually fairly short and often focus on virtuoso pianistic displays or emotional expression of a sentimental character.
Many popular composers wrote at least a few pieces which fall into the category of salon music.
Some pianists composed only salon music, but many of these specialists have become highly obscure.
The following is a list of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century composers in whose work salon music was predominant.