The classical modern period, 1900-1945, saw a great deal of cultural change, and many different composers helped shape the musical landscape of the early 20th century. Browse our sheet music and scores, take a look at our Classical Modern Sheet Music Downloads, and explore the wide world of classical modernism with Stretta Music today
The horrors of World War I brought about such a shift in perspective, that art would never be the same again. The cultural and social changes that had already begun at the end of the 19th century led to new prospects, which were mirrored and expressed through various innovative artistic movements, them sum of which is called Classic Modernism.
During the 20th century, the boundaries of tonality were stretched so far that one could no longer speak of tonal music. The most striking examples of this are polytonality, employed by composers like Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, and Charles Ives, and to an even greater extent serialism, the twelve-tone music of Arnold Schönberg and his students.
The rise of nationalism in the late 19th century sparked a great interest in rediscovering folk music. New technical developments, such as the invention of the phonograph, also made it easier to document and collect folk music. Great folk Pioneers were the Romanian composer Béla Bartók, the Czech composer Leo Janáček, the Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, and the Australian-American composer Percy Grainger.
This development led to a new idiom within classical music, both melodically and rhythmically. Good examples of the integration of folklore into classical modern music are the melodies from Janáček’s Jenufa, which are based on the rhythm and intonation of the Czech language, and Bartók’s Second Violin Rhapsody.
Expressionists aimed to capture true emotions without glossing over them. Above all, they looked at the subjective inner world, in contrast to the outer world, and left all traditional ideals of beauty behind.
Expressionist music is characterised by dissonance, extreme dynamics and great contrasts in colour, pitch and effect. In music, expressionism is generally associated with the Second Viennese School, founded by Arnold Schönberg and his students Anton Webern and Alban Berg, and the dodecaphonic, twelve-tone technique they used, known as serialism.
Examples of expressionist music include Schönberg’s Erwartung, 1909, and Berg’s Wozzeck, 1922.
Another classical modern departure from the ideals of the Romantic Period was to draw on forms and tropes of the Baroque Period and the Classical Period. This was expressed in the use of traditional musical forms, as in Martinů’s Concerto da Camara, 1937, the use of traditional instrumentation, as in Manuel de Falla’s Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet & Cello, 1926, and also in the use of thematic material from the 18th and 19th centuries, such as in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, 1920.
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 635277
for: Voice (alto), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 689805
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 108808
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 294809
8 Pieces for Organ
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 494461
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 338676
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 779303
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 964897
for: Flute, piano
Score, part
Item no.: 395370
for: Orchestra and Piano
Score
Item no.: 1540461
for: Cello, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 466198
for: 2 violins
Item no.: 331366
for: Cello, piano
Item no.: 108913
for: Soprano Voice and Guitar
Book
Item no.: 400984
for: Voice (soprano), organ
Music score
Item no.: 224061
for: Symphonic orchestra
Buch
Item no.: 358159
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 240310
for: Alto saxophone, orchestra
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 240220
for: Piano 4 hands
Book
Item no.: 412126
for: String Trio [Violin, Viola and Cello]
Set of parts
Item no.: 412040
for violin and piano
for: Cello, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 676670
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 109209
for: Harfe
Score
Item no.: 205901
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 101276
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 100872
for: Piano 4 hands
Score
Item no.: 375112
for: 2 trumpets
Set of parts
Item no.: 224950
for: Flute, violin, viola, cello, harp
Score, Parts
Item no.: 267319
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 577133
for: Oboe, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 266854
for: Oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 266732
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 412507
for: Quintet
Score
Item no.: 466694
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411560
for: Clarinet
Music score
Item no.: 239038
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Organ score, Vocal score
Item no.: 383600
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 1148154
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 283717
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 162245
for: 2 pianos
Item no.: 108939
for: Organ [harmonium]
Music score
Item no.: 207644
for: Cello, piano
Music score, solo part
Item no.: 153720
for: Piano, orchestra
Book
Item no.: 244318
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 685536
for: Violin, piano
Score
Item no.: 298262
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 358899
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 246259
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 430703