Baroque (1600-1750):

Highly Rhythmical Music with little variation in dynamics.

May contain ornamentation (trills, mordents etc.)
Listen to some J S Bach!
Classical (1750-1815):
Strong and structured Elegant and Poetic music without Rich,
Luscious Harmonisations (Chords).
Listen to Mozart & Beethoven!
Romantic (1815-1900):
Highly Poetic Music with Rich, Luscious Harmonisations and often played with
Rubato i.e. a certain flexibility of rhythmic interpretation. Often Highly
Expressive and Emotional and Beautiful. The favourite musical period of nearly
all followers of Classical music!
Listen to: Berlioz, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky.
Modern (serious) 1900+:
Any slightly strange/weird sounding piece with dissonance (=clashing or atonal h
armonies).
Virtually anything not fitting the descriptions above!
Serious 20th Century Composers include Stravinsky, Bartok, Shostakovich and Luto
slawski.