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
Item no.: 129792
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 129788
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1619670
for: Concert band
Item no.: 1619468
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1618640
for: Piano
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625331
for: Bariton, Sopran, Alt, Tenor, Bass und Orgel
Score
Item no.: 1619050
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1626919
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1626841
for: Concert band
Direktion
Item no.: 1626839
Direktion
Item no.: 1626835
Choir score
Item no.: 1625367
for: Frauenchor und Keyboard
Item no.: 1622813
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1622299
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1622201
Study score
Item no.: 1622023
for: für Orchester
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 459098
for: Brass ensemble (11 parts); timpani ad lib.
Score
Item no.: 165791
for: Mixed choir (SSATBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 111421
for: für 10 Instrumente
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 1135309
for: für Streichquartett
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 1135105
for: für Klarinette, Trompete und Bratsche
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 367104
for: für Sopran, Bass, Chor SATB und Orchester
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 124635
for: Flute, piano
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 1618447
for: Violin, piano
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 1618218
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1623832
Direktion
Item no.: 1618068
for: Saxophone ensemble
Score
Item no.: 1624172
for: hohe Stimme und Gitarre
Vokalpartitur
Item no.: 1619087
for: 2 Violas and Piano
Book
Item no.: 163193
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 169855
for: Chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 796360
for: 4 soloists (SATB), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Choir part Tenor
Item no.: 780815
for: Voice (S/A), flute, 2 clarinets, viola, cello
Set of parts
Item no.: 647612
for: für Streichquartett
Set of parts
Item no.: 155447
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 144641
Piano reduction
Item no.: 137214
for: für Chor TTBB
Choir score
Item no.: 1135562
for: für Chor TTBB
Choir score
Item no.: 1135448
for: für Chor TTBB
Choir score
Item no.: 1135441
for: für Chor TTBB
Choir score
Item no.: 1135258
for: für Chor TTBB
Choir score
Item no.: 1134962
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 404203
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 166264
for: Voice (low), piano
Book
Item no.: 169629
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 157408
for: 2 pianos
Piano reduction
Item no.: 680806