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: Choir and Concert Band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1039578
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202341
Kantate auf ein Gedicht von Martin Kurt
for: Soli, Männerchor, Orchester
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1534954
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 997546
for: Soprano Voice and String Orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1215311
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 1162364
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 636947
for: Concert band
Item no.: 326501
Klassik
for: Symphonic orchestra
Buch
Item no.: 1539719
for: Male choir (TTBB) a cappella
Item no.: 104128
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1171629
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1201192
for: Percussion and Piano
Buch
Item no.: 834172
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 1172019
Entspricht der 3. Saxophonstimme.
for: Small wind band
Single part Alto saxophone 2
Item no.: 223266
Conductors part
Item no.: 428981
for: Cello, piano
Item no.: 379312
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 380083
for: 2 mixed choirs (SATB, SATB) a cappella
Item no.: 383326
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Item no.: 385713
Klassenmusizieren
for: Celtic harp
Item no.: 482943
for: String orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 388372
Konzertwerk
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1204765
for: Choir
Choir part Soprano
Item no.: 387183
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1102998
Instrumental Accompaniment Set
for: Choir
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1057011
Instrumental Accompaniment Set
for: SATB and Keyboard
Choir score
Item no.: 1057890
Shawnee Press
for: Choir (2 voices), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1124539
Shawnee Press
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1125209
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat)
Music score, Playback-CD
Item no.: 1019353
nach „Stars and Stripes forever“
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano; 2 saxophones (AT), trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 330864
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 175744
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 171117
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 163743
for: 2 violins
Book
Item no.: 162635
for: Double bass, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 797000
first printed edition
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1344318
Dedicated to the Memory of Joseph Joachim
First printed edition
Foulds Edition
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1344182
for: Choir
Choir part Soprano
Item no.: 386024
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1193861
for: Oboe, Bassoon and Harpsichord
Set of parts
Item no.: 1193756
Violin and Cello parts
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1171781