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: Piccolo, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1219981
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1219980
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1233781
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1233778
for: Tenor saxophone, organ
Sheet music
Item no.: 1233669
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1233668
for: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1219083
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1219081
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272513
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272504
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272492
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272468
for: Trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272174
for: Flute [treble recorder], piano
Score, part (pdf download)
Item no.: 2341
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 2197
for: Flute [oboe/violin], piano
Piano score, Solo part (pdf download)
Item no.: 2120
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 2080
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 2079
for: Organ
Sheet music
Item no.: 1955
for: Clarinet (B-flat), piano
Piano score, Solo part (pdf download)
Item no.: 1328
for: Voice (bass), piano
Sheet music, audio files
Item no.: 1288
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 410973
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 894074
for: Flute, piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 367004
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 133306
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 101069
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239228
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 108820
for: Flute [oboe], piano
Piano score, Solo part (pdf download)
Item no.: 2493
for: Bass clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1240902
for: Trombone
Instrumental Solo
Item no.: 1051887
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 178559
for: Flute Duo
Score
Item no.: 107257
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Book
Item no.: 873815
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Buch
Item no.: 279900
for: Chamber ensemble
Study score
Item no.: 227406
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Book
Item no.: 906943
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Book
Item no.: 902497
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Book
Item no.: 901990
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 223743
for: Horn (F), piano
Piano score, solo part (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 646040
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 188705
for: Flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon (wind quintet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 351292
for: Clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello
Set of parts
Item no.: 149750
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Lyrics
Item no.: 896727
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 892459
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 889679
for: Classical guitar
Book
Item no.: 491572