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: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 411895
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 410926
for: Flute, Violin, Viola and Piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 412413
for: Flute
Score
Item no.: 412399
for: Clarinet and Various Instruments
Score
Item no.: 412375
for: Percussion instruments
Score
Item no.: 412186
for: Harp or Harps
Score
Item no.: 412119
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 412096
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 412092
for: Chamber Ochestra
Score
Item no.: 412088
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 412054
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 412052
for: Mixed Sextet
Set of parts
Item no.: 412050
for: Oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Set of parts
Item no.: 412006
for: Saxophon und Klavier
Score
Item no.: 411947
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411916
for: Guitar or Lute
Score
Item no.: 412940
Study score
Item no.: 412922
for: Guitar or Lute
Score
Item no.: 412905
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 412854
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 412791
Study score
Item no.: 412774
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 412747
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 412700
for: Mixed Ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 412680
for: Guitar or Lute
Score
Item no.: 412676
for: Classical guitar
Score
Item no.: 412610
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 821384
for: Mixed Ensemble
Score
Item no.: 821272
for: Educazione Musicale
Book
Item no.: 411244
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411198
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 411034
for: Voice (medium), piano
Single edition
Item no.: 411020
for: Gitarrenduo
Score
Item no.: 394186
for: Guitar or Lute
Score
Item no.: 394131
for: Guitar or Lute
Score
Item no.: 394130
for: Viola, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 411835
for: Trii
Score
Item no.: 411778
for: Cello or 2 Celli and Piano
Score
Item no.: 411774
for: 2 violins
Score
Item no.: 411763
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411677
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 411506
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411452
for: Trumpet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 348457
for: Voice, guitar
Score
Item no.: 347012
for: Brass Ensemble and Organ
Score, Parts
Item no.: 346167
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Score
Item no.: 225267