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.
Suite for orchestra (1919)
for: Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 793901
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 224345
for: Flute, trumpet, piano
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 601134
for: Flute, piano
Score
Item no.: 101244
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 101025
for 4 players on one piano
for: Piano 8 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 269352
for: 2 treble recorders (duet)
Ensemble score
Item no.: 420912
First Edition
Volume 2
for: Voice (medium), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 491899
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 549453
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 908337
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 659874
for: Salon orchestra
Piano part for conductor, Parts
Item no.: 406136
for: Voice (medium), piano
Item no.: 138024
for: Trumpet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 667312
One-act play by Peter Kien
Study score
Item no.: 757844
Nocturne - Scherzetto - Toccata
for: Marimba, piano
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 299788
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 208274
for: Violin, piano
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 156008
for: GES-H (S) VL VC KLAV
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 108949
for: für Soli: Sopran, Tenor, Chor SATB und Orchester Ausgabe für Gesang und Klavier von Erik Satie
Piano reduction
Item no.: 210986
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Lyric book
Item no.: 107033
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404355
for: 2 pianos
Piano reduction
Item no.: 349903
for: Chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 178092
for: für Gesang und Klavier
Piano reduction
Item no.: 140181
for: für Violine und Violoncello
Item no.: 124442
Lyric book
Item no.: 124323
Lyric book
Item no.: 128217
for: Accordion; voice ad lib.
Music score
Item no.: 179356
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 466514
Item no.: 613455
for: 2 violins
Ensemble score
Item no.: 146518
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 392493
for: 2 mixed choirs (SATB, SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 499831
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 605785
for: 2 violins, viola, cello; double bass ad lib.
Score, Parts
Item no.: 480600
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 629832
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 101231
for: Piano
Item no.: 176986
for: Guitar
Item no.: 393732
for: Piano 6 hands
Item no.: 421033
for: Flute, piano
Book
Item no.: 303359
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 128635
for: für Orgel
Item no.: 113428
for: Organ
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 579909
Edition Schott
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 750225
for: Clarinet, bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1270879
for: Cello, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1052283