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, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1600428
for: Voice (low), piano
Piano/Vocal
Item no.: 1612561
for: Voice, piano
Piano/Vocal
Item no.: 1612560
for: Piano
Item no.: 1523400
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1630589
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1630587
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1630578
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1630577
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1630574
for: Brass quintet
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601710
for: 5 F Horns
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601585
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601042
for: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601035
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601032
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601028
for: Piccolo trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1631659
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1631652
for: Piano
Item no.: 1637429
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637111
for: Bass clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637108
for: Cornet (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637100
for: Solo for Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Eb Cornet, F Horn, Eb Horn, Alto Trombone, Tenor Trombone, Euphonium, Violin, Viola or Violoncello & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636936
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1630961
for: Viola, Keyboard
Instrumental Solo & Accompaniment
Item no.: 1638785
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1597044
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1597036
for: Piccolo, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1597439
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1598126
for: Baritone saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1598118
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1479084
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605664
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605658
for: Piccolo trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605654
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605653
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605649
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1613020
for: Voice, piano
Piano/Vocal
Item no.: 1612828
for: Cornet (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1614084
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1614082
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1604004
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1604003
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1604001
for: Viola, Keyboard
Instrumental Solo & Accompaniment
Item no.: 1638522
for: Piano
Item no.: 1638271
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1600006
for: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1599988
for: Jazz ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1380092
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1382256
© 2004–2024 by Stretta Music. Order and buy sheet music online.
Your specialist for all kinds of sheet music. Online shop, sheet music, music scores and play along for download, books, music stands, music stand lights, accessories.
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Luxembourg
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Poland
Czech Republic
United Kingdom
