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: Piano
Item no.: 1703282
with Soprano part
for: Voice (soprano), 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 1017541
for: Violin, String Ensemble and BC
Score
Item no.: 263241
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 388791
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 383167
Oratorium in zwei Teilen (1945/1948)
für Sopran, Alt, Tenor, Bariton, Bass, gemischten Chor, Orchester und Orgel
for: Soloists, mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Lyric book
Item no.: 301037
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 770548
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 154783
for: Violin, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1148167
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 289962
for: 4 piccolos
Score, Parts
Item no.: 769741
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 564800
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 332378
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 199902
for: Solo voice (baritone), mixed choir (SATB)
Choir score
Item no.: 559376
for: Mixed choir (SATB), orchestra [piano]
Choir parts (Soprano, Alto)
Item no.: 344741
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 217515
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1213336
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 853503
for: Mixed choir (6 voices) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 853440
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1212992
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1212814
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1212655
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1212635
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 1342764
for: Small wind band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 199930
for: Voice (baritone), orchestra [organ]; mixed choir [men's choir] ad lib.
Piano reduction
Item no.: 153887
for: Mixed Ensemble
Score
Item no.: 330033
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 304349
for: Viola, Strings and Piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 272201
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 245687
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 227873
for: Cello, piano
Score
Item no.: 225824
for: Mixed Ensemble
Score
Item no.: 188726
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 178559
for: Orchestra, Soprano Voice, SATB
Score
Item no.: 176617
for: Voice, piano
Score
Item no.: 852603
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 821763
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 851373
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 851259
for: Cello, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 662748
for: Cello
Score
Item no.: 616607
for: 3 Guitars
Score
Item no.: 583356
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 581081
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 476281
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 467812