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: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1204720
for: Sopran solo, Gemischter Chor (SATB)
Choir score
Item no.: 114779
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 114778
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 877630
for: Alt-Blockflöten (2), Flöte
Stimme
Item no.: 874120
for: Violin
Stimme
Item no.: 871742
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 869517
for: Choir
Chorpartitur, Sammelband
Item no.: 115420
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 115408
for: Mixed choir (5 parts) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 115139
for: Frauenchor (SA)
Choir score
Item no.: 114876
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 901859
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 154432
for: Female Choir [SSS]
Score
Item no.: 619612
for: Kinderchor (SMez) mit Instrumenten
Choir score
Item no.: 103253
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1211616
for: Soloist (baritone), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1031905
for: 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 907418
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 905587
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 680805
for: Soprano and small Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 301465
for: Horn
Single part(n)
Item no.: 160250
Unter Verwendung einer Volksmelodie. Für Akkordeon solo oder Klavier
for: Piano [accordion]
Item no.: 458927
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 888408
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Book
Item no.: 1006027
for: Symphonic orchestra
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 608089
Gesamtausgabe 7 (Complete edition)
for: Violin, orchestra
Partitur, Leineneinband
Item no.: 346880
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Piano reduction
Item no.: 836644
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 317099
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 358890
for: Concert band
Direktion
Item no.: 1626813
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1626959
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1626844
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 885654
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 898245
for: Concert band
Direktion
Item no.: 902046
Score
Item no.: 897463
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 897128
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2, 4
Item no.: 221021
for: Cello, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 262873
for: Viola, piano
Single part Viola
Item no.: 425931
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1108902
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 389487
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1120945
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 262430
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1105976