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: Flute, cello, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 277465
for: 3 KLAV 6MS
Score
Item no.: 209259
for: Double bass
Music score
Item no.: 818798
for: Latin percussion
Score
Item no.: 818770
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 797158
for: Flute
Score
Item no.: 238453
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239607
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239338
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239334
for: Salon orchestra
Buch
Item no.: 1590759
for: Salon orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1590739
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590676
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590655
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590593
for: Salon orchestra
Buch
Item no.: 1590569
for: Salon orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1590537
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590377
for: Salon orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1590359
for: 2 solo voices (MezBar), mixed choir (SATB), string orchestra, organ; trumpet, harp, kettle drums ad lib.
Harp (orchestral part)
Item no.: 1664353
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1646966
for: String orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1546297
for: Guitar
Item no.: 173601
for: Englischhorn und Orgel
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1624487
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 1155677
for: Choir
Chorpartitur, Sammelband
Item no.: 115420
for: Alt-Blockflöten (2), Flöte
Stimme
Item no.: 874120
for: Violin
Stimme
Item no.: 871742
for: Flute, piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 871720
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 115408
for: Mixed choir (MezTB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 115403
for: Mixed choir (5 parts) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 115139
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 877630
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 869517
for: Violin, viola, cello (string trio)
Set of parts
Item no.: 645571
for: Mezzosopran solo, Bariton solo, Klavier, Sopran solo, Tenor solo, Klavier
Singpartitur, Spielpartitur
Item no.: 883426
Study score
Item no.: 1621559
for: Concert band
Study score
Item no.: 1611379
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1622447
for: Frauenchor (SA)
Choir score
Item no.: 114876
for: Sopran solo, Gemischter Chor (SATB)
Choir score
Item no.: 114779
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 114778
for: Violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 344075
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202298
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 618898
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1211616
for: Soloist (baritone), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1031905
for: 2 Pianos and Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 907418
for: Kinderchor (SMez) mit Instrumenten
Choir score
Item no.: 103253