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: 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
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 172955
for: Horn (F), piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1659620
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 767279
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Item no.: 104470
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 106740
for: Classical guitar
Book
Item no.: 491572
for: Violinduo
Buch
Item no.: 585504
for: Choir
Set of parts
Item no.: 1150571
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 179805
for: für Bläserquintett
Score
Item no.: 113631
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 124609
for: Clarinet, piano
Item no.: 124421
for: Violine, Flöte oder 2.Violine, Klarinette in a oder Viola, Cello und Klavier
Partitur
Item no.: 112936
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 391787
for: 2 flutes, piano
Music score
Item no.: 129678
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat)
Music score, Playback-CD
Item no.: 602659
for: Choir
Set of parts
Item no.: 1160075
for: Mixed Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 389604
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 1690688
for: Violin, viola, cello (string trio)
Item no.: 284807
for: Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano
Item no.: 284780
for: Organ
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 284729
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 583394
Three Pieces Op. 95, Ten Pieces, Op.97
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1684576
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 193327
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 490493
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 2080
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1011127
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1009367
for: 2 guitars
Ensemble score
Item no.: 189603
for: für Klavier
Item no.: 124304
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 191756
for: für Streichquartett
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 185698
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 1713610
for: Clarinet, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1552228
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 286720
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 383599
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 358875
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 285888
for: Organ
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 285366
for: Organ
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 285313