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: Symphonic orchestra
Score
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for: Voice, piano
Music score
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per fiati, ottoni, timpani, batteria, pianoforte e contrabassi
Repertoire Explorer
for: Chamber ensemble
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for: Classical guitar
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for: 2 string orchestras
Score
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for: Piano
Music score
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Action musicale
for: Soloists, mixed choir (SATB), piano
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Music score
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Sämtliche Lieder 2
for: Voice (high), piano
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Item no.: 368901
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1021855
for: Viola, piano
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for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 100857
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
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for: Flute and Recorder
Score
Item no.: 238459
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
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for: Piano
Music score
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for: Organ
Music score
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for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1015126
for: Sprecher, Flöte, Violine, Cello, Klarinette, Klavier
Set of parts
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for: Piano 6 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 216191
from "Trois femmes de légende pour orchestre"
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 469865
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 677241
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1290516
for: Guitar
Score
Item no.: 254842
for: Treble recorder
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for violin and orchestra
for: Violin, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 736875
Schott Student Edition - Repertoire
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 740148
for: Clarinet, trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 601138
III. movement from the sextet for woodwind instruments and piano
for: Flute, piano
Music score
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Sing- und Spielmusik für Liebhaber und Musikfreunde
for: mittlere Singstimme (od. 1stg. Chor) und 3 Instrumentalisten (Streicher od. Bläser)
Score
Item no.: 746654
Russian Dance
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 724088
nach Worten von Franz Kafka
for: Voice, piano
Music score
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for: Violin, piano
Music score
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Music score
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Edition Schott
for: Violin, piano
Music score
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for: Voice (high), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 4070
Nº 4, from: Dix Pièces pour Orgue ou Harmonium
Paris, 1899
for: Organ [harmonium]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6480
for: Voice (medium), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 5397
for: Trumpet (B-flat) [clarinet/tenor saxophone], piano
Score, part (pdf download)
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for: Violin, viola, cello, piano
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for: Flute, Violin and Piano
Book
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Book
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