Tonality in Romantic Composition

I'm writing a set of Romantic miniatures at the moment, but have just finished writing one that goes through a set of related keys before settling in C major (and it settles there fairly nicely). The structure is such that it sounds finished and complete at the final cadence, but the piece has a recurring section in F minor, and indeed it opens in that key.

All the other pieces start and end in the same key, but this one (vaguely Schumanesque in its feel) does not. I appreciate this is slightly unusual, but is it permissible in a one-movement work? I can't easily think of a precedent for it, but without perfect pitch I'm not sure if it's something I would notice in a piece with frequent key changes.

Are there standalone romantic pieces that start in one key and end in another?

I can't think of anything right off the bat, but if it sounds good and feels good I don't see any reason why you shouldn't do it, unless you're striving for authenticity.

I don't see why you should limit yourself to any arbitrary rules that basically went out of fashion a hundred years ago.

As long as your music is properly structured there's no real reason for it to limit itself to beginning and finishing in one tonality.

I'd say that if your piece is entirely in the same key except for a single phrase at the end, then there are good chances that there will be a sense that the structure is somehow deficient. However, if your phrasing and construction feel "complete" then I don't really think anyone will notice whether you start and finish in the same or in different keys.

Thanks for your insights. I think I shall leave my piece as it is - it certainly doesn't 'sound' inauthentic at the moment, but I'll run it by my composition tutor later to see what he has to say.

One of Schubert's A-flat impromptus (IIRC there are several in that key) begins in A-flat minor. I'm somewhat sure a couple of Loewe songs begin and end in somewhat arbitrarily different keys (Archibald Douglas?). If it makes sense from a form perspective, I see no problem. If you look at Romantic character pieces and such, I suspect that there might be further examples, but I lack experience with that particular area.