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 two Clarinets in Bb and Piano
for: 2 clarinets, piano
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 685019
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 331744
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 330068
for: hohe Singstimme und Klavier (Violino obligato ad lib.)
Item no.: 357319
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 138512
for: Guitar
Item no.: 393700
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 303672
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 606387
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 124970
for: 2 violins, viola, cello, piano (piano quintet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 296795
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 190835
for: String orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 184619
for: 4 soloists (SATB), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Score
Item no.: 272879
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 200077
for three violins
for: 3 violins
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1109083
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 478875
for: 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos (sextet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 107029
for: für Klavier
Item no.: 113430
for: Clarinet
Music score
Item no.: 216949
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 551600
for: Bläserquintett
Set of parts
Item no.: 322923
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Score (Hardcover)
Item no.: 868781
for Piano
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 674137
for: Horn, orchestra
Study score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 696046
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 160814
for: Cello, organ
Music score
Item no.: 661832
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 321440
for: Viola, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 614481
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 480266
for: Clarinet
Music score
Item no.: 212562
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 227213
for: Guitar
Item no.: 187926
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 113597
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 129303
for: Flute, oboe
Ensemble score
Item no.: 336655
for: Cello, piano
Score
Item no.: 619136
for: Women's Choir
Score
Item no.: 495166
for: 2 pianos
Piano reduction
Item no.: 108807
for: Violin, orchestra
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 395378
for alto and piano
Transcription of 3 pieces for cello and piano
for: Viola, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 676608
for: Tuba In C or Tenor Horn B-Flat and Piano
Book
Item no.: 267165
for: Cello, piano
Score, part
Item no.: 267309
for: Organ
Spielpartitur, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 466841
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324979
for: Oboe, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 420772
for: Clarinet
Item no.: 106965
for: Piano
Item no.: 378573
for: Piano
Solostimme
Item no.: 357421