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: Concert band
Item no.: 1555754
for: Orchestra and Piano
Book
Item no.: 1117814
Nu Er Den Skønne Dag..
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 1172002
2nd Movement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 991381
Reprint
Study Score 173
Repertoire Explorer
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 397418
Klavier
for: Piano
Piano score
Item no.: 197005
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 200472
Text von Manfred Streubel
for: GES-M GCH (4)
Item no.: 123198
Festmusik zum Eidgenössischen Musikfest in Bern
for: Concert band
Conductors part
Item no.: 1582458
for: Organ 4 hands
Item no.: 296830
for: Violin, guitar
Item no.: 298969
for: Concert band
Conductors part
Item no.: 296164
for: 2 Git Vc
Item no.: 636454
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 633481
Contemporary Sacred Choral Music
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 634780
Klassik
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1193727
for: 4 clarinets
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1132396
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1145194
Harmonia-Mixed Choir
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 912509
for: Trumpet, strings
Study score
Item no.: 382432
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 383423
for: Wind instruments
Set of parts
Item no.: 384300
for: BL STR
Stimmen-Set
Item no.: 385710
for: Choir
Choir part Soprano
Item no.: 385999
for: Choir
Choir part Tenor
Item no.: 387184
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 180906
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 378933
for: Piano
Item no.: 346775
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1201517
Single part Flugelhorn 2
Item no.: 1670961
Zwei Klaviere 4hd
for: 2 pianos
Item no.: 478860
for: Theory
Buch
Item no.: 250948
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 249516
für Bläserquintett in zwei Sätzen
for: Flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon (wind quintet)
Study score
Item no.: 310031
für 10 Instrumente oder Kammerorchester
Transformationen im Goldenen Schnitt für 2 + 3 + 5 Instrumente
for: KLAR HRN FAG TRP POS 2 VL VA VC KB
Stimmen-Set
Item no.: 306575
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 683981
for: Bassoon Solo [Unaccompanied]
Book
Item no.: 488447
106er Regimentsmarsch, aus der Operette "Wiener Frauen"
for: Salon orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 646828
for: Harp
Music score
Item no.: 377962
for: Piano
Item no.: 346777
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 1175030
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 114335