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.
Duet from "Hänsel and Gretel"
Edition with Tonic Solfa
for: 2 voices (SA), piano
Music score
Item no.: 355016
for: Women's choir (SSAA), piano
Score
Item no.: 338615
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 3246
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 874589
for: Mixed choir (SATB), small orchestra
Choir score
Item no.: 648676
"When at night I go to sleep" from "Hansel and Gretel"
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 356792
for: für Frauenchor (SA) mit einem Blasinstrument Englische Ausgabe (deutsche Ausgabe erhältlich als UE10878A)
Choir score
Item no.: 1135541
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 629846
for: Chor (SAB) und Klavier
Choir score
Item no.: 1626159
for: Voice, piano
Piano/Vocal
Item no.: 1665626
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 659641
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 378126
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 888700
for: 2 soloists (SB), mixed choir (SATB), organ
Score
Item no.: 366296
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1626249
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 975696
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 321809
for: Mixed choir (SATB), harp [piano]
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1711875
for: Mixed choir (SATB), concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 681082
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1672412
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612754
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Score
Item no.: 487619
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano, percussion
Score
Item no.: 691675
Five Christmas Songs
for: Voice, piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1676684
for: Women's choir (SS), piano
Score
Item no.: 498354
for: Mixed choir (SATB), oboe, cello
Score
Item no.: 311841
for: Fanfare
Score, Parts
Item no.: 975452
for: Klavier und Gesang, Gitarre ad lib.
Music score
Item no.: 726071
for: Voice, piano
Piano/Vocal
Item no.: 1613132
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553171
for: Women's choir (SSA), harp [piano]
Choir score
Item no.: 487737
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 293290
for: Soloist (baritone), male choir (TTBB), orchestra
Choir score
Item no.: 295926
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 634027
for: Children's Choir [Women's Choir] [SSS] and harp [Piano]
Choir score
Item no.: 498355
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1712057
New edition
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1549188
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Score
Item no.: 488038
for: Male choir (TTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 372211
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 461442
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 655111
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 891305
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553140
for: Orchestra; mixed choir ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 867661
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 886402
for: Voice (high), piano
Single edition
Item no.: 294668
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 930142
for: Fanfare
Score
Item no.: 876307