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
Score
Item no.: 851373
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 851259
for: Cello, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 662748
for: Cello
Score
Item no.: 616607
for: 3 Guitars
Score
Item no.: 583356
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 581081
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 476281
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Music score
Item no.: 467812
Study score
Item no.: 345625
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 141584
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 107290
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 107283
for: Flute Duo
Score
Item no.: 107257
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 1669788
for: Piano 4-Hands
Buch
Item no.: 1643211
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 822386
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 822252
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: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 412366
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: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 411895
for: Guitar or Lute
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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: Oboe, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 412743
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.: 821536