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: Viola, string orchestra
Score
Item no.: 455513
for: Organ
Score
Item no.: 420140
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 419694
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 383446
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 367913
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 362319
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 383305
for: SAX ENSEMBLE SCHLAGZ
Score
Item no.: 393032
for: Marching band
Score
Item no.: 842344
for: school orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1117688
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1103029
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 941795
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 949502
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 978742
for: Voice, piano
Choir score
Item no.: 962312
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 858279
for: Men's Choir [TTBB] and Piano
Choir score
Item no.: 977157
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 966211
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 262931
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 1353174
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 966037
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1346467
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 840225
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 834734
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 965747
for: Bass guitar
Piano reduction
Item no.: 776626
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 158471
for: Fanfare
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1000061
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 999608
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 257659
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Lyric book
Item no.: 778101
for: ORCHESTERWERKE STREICHORCHESTER SOLO-KLAVIER
Item no.: 1538835
Unter Verwendung einer Volksmelodie. Für Akkordeon solo oder Klavier
for: Piano [accordion]
Item no.: 458927
for: CORNO DA CACCIA (TRP) KLAV
Item no.: 431615
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 818423
for: 4 Mixed Voices and Piano
Book
Item no.: 820097
for: Symphonic orchestra
Book
Item no.: 1212877
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1212623
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1212618
for: Harp, orchestra
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 266565
for: 2 violins
Score
Item no.: 240947
for: Medium Voices
Book
Item no.: 267189
for: Solfege
Book
Item no.: 1178120
for: Solfege
Book
Item no.: 1178078
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 820366