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: Oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, violin, cello, piano (octet)
Score
Item no.: 313601
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 1212268
for: 4 soloists (SATB), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Choir score
Item no.: 1105674
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 343839
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 180906
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 358890
for: Symphonic orchestra
Conductor score
Item no.: 358866
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 358642
for: Voice, piano
OTHER
Item no.: 263869
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 154432
for: Accordion
Item no.: 1538885
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3
Item no.: 208659
for: GES 2 PICC FAG
Score, Parts
Item no.: 611288
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 309523
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 309432
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 901859
for: Viola
Music score
Item no.: 101698
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1610871
for: TBarB
Score
Item no.: 909423
for: men's Choir [TTBB] and Strings or organ [Piano]
Book
Item no.: 909159
for: Voice (medium)
Book
Item no.: 889465
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 864654
for: Wind Band
Score
Item no.: 894363
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 864059
for: Voice (low), piano
Book
Item no.: 909914
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 908174
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Score
Item no.: 908132
for: Voice (low), piano
Book
Item no.: 897036
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 485202
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 910039
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 908349
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 906729
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 899888
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 893848
for: Viola, piano
Book
Item no.: 141794
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 243078
for: Flute, violin, piano
Set of parts
Item no.: 1747575
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1120987
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1120985
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 1160628
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1056844
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Score
Item no.: 1160645
– Graduated prices on request –
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1043591
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Score
Item no.: 645867
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 940429
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 991381
for: Cello, orchestra
Harmony parts (complete winds)
Item no.: 424508
for: 2 mixed choirs (SATB, SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 676621