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.
1st (instr ad lib) Chor
Item no.: 119571
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 742
for: Soloists, Mixed Choir, boys' Choir and Chamber Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 198731
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 169771
"Frühling kommt angezogen" Idylleop. 52
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Choir part Bass 1
Item no.: 1111945
for: Symphonic orchestra
Conductor score
Item no.: 358866
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 358642
from the Symphonic Suite Lieutenant Kijé
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 893848
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1201037
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202214
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1202129
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 616096
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1201953
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1201871
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1202348
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 578845
for: Violin, orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1201526
Flute and Clarinet Quintet
for: Flute and Clarinet Quintet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 829896
Clarinet Quintet
for: Clarinet Quintet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 829564
Oboe and String Ensemble
for: Oboe and String Ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 829017
Saxophone Quintet
for: Saxophonquintett
Score, Parts
Item no.: 828974
Suite for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet in B flat, Horn & Bassoon
for: Chamber ensemble
Set of parts
Item no.: 148328
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 910039
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 909960
for: Voice (low), piano
Book
Item no.: 909914
Intercession
for: men's Choir [TTBB] and Strings or organ [Piano]
Book
Item no.: 909159
Prelude
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 908174
for: Voice (low), piano
Book
Item no.: 897036
March
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 899888
Boosey Choral Music Experience
for: Mixed Choir and Piano
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1212300
Elektra - Der Rosenkavalier
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 1212268
for: Voice (high), piano
Item no.: 100448
for: 2 flutes (duet)
Item no.: 192676
"Frasquita"
for: Accordion
Item no.: 1538885
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 269781
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202835
Klassik
for: Harp
Music score
Item no.: 984304
for: Voice (medium)
Book
Item no.: 889465
Vorspiel
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1067113
Potpourri
BOVACO Classic CB
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1017616
Grand Patriotic Potpourri
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1070255
The Governor's March
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1064624
Medley Overture
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1065970
Pagliacci
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1067791
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1091089
from "Vespers" op. 37
Daehn Publications
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1031996
March
Oversized, spiral-bound score
Sousa Legacy
for: Concert band
Score (spiral binding)
Item no.: 1061381
Marsch
Oversized, spiral-bound score
Sousa Centennial
for: Concert band
Score (spiral binding)
Item no.: 1010793
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1650806
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