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: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 942327
for: Soloist (baritone), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 677343
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 648828
for: 3 guitars
Score, Parts
Item no.: 444185
Erlebtes musikalisches Geschehen in Deutschland.
Einführung, Textanmerkungen und Anhang von Thomas Schipperges
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 345770
for: Small wind band
Single part Lyra
Item no.: 362695
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1105869
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1148526
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 1148968
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1147841
for: Women's choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1147793
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1147966
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1147962
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1147927
for: Clarinet
Music score
Item no.: 166332
for: 5 Clarinets and Bass Clarinet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 996039
for: Flute Quintet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 995959
for: 5 brass winds
Score, Parts
Item no.: 996734
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Score
Item no.: 1209856
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324507
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324483
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 324362
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 324102
for: Male choir, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 114396
for: Classical
Score
Item no.: 186682
for: ORCH (ENSEMBLE)
Score
Item no.: 186478
Single part Trumpet
Item no.: 975308
for: Chamber ensemble
Score
Item no.: 833083
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 324796
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 777235
for: Choir
Music score
Item no.: 777076
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324623
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324517
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 832772
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 832761
Score, Parts
Item no.: 389909
for: Saxophone
Music score
Item no.: 833257
for: Mixed ensemble
Score
Item no.: 833460
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1007676
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1006971
for: Clarinet and Wind Band
Book
Item no.: 1006685
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1006350
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 835545
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 835385
for: Chamber ensemble
Buch
Item no.: 835923
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 835893