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: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 558197
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 108808
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 246697
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 549379
Folk dances
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 227390
First edition
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 494410
for: Violin, orchestra
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 197777
for: Trumpet, chamber orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1023273
for: Oboe, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 266854
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 246259
for: Oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 266732
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 108843
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 636617
for: 2 horns (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1608
for: Organ [harmonium]
Music score
Item no.: 207644
Book
Item no.: 313817
for: Clarinet, piano
Book
Item no.: 395516
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197635
for: 2 trumpets
Set of parts
Item no.: 224950
for: Soprano Voice and Guitar
Book
Item no.: 400984
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 627402
44 Songs, including 7 Cycles or Sets
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 489726
for: Clarinet (violin), viola (cello), piano
Piano score, 2 solo parts (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 478952
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 654875
for: Viola, organ
Item no.: 624462
for: Trumpet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 288583
for: Piano
Piano score, online audio (playback)
Item no.: 135677
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 178192
for 2 flutes, 2 oboes 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 horns
for: 2 Flöten, 2 Oboen 2 Klarinetten, 2 Fagotte und 2 Hörner
Score
Item no.: 758416
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 199419
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 155828
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 688940
from Suite No. 2 for Jazz Orchestra
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 170842
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 109209
for: 2 pianos
Item no.: 108939
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 492321
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 630350
for: 2 violins, piano
Piano score, Solo parts
Item no.: 218490
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 659755
for: Piano
Item no.: 120407
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 602558
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 388782
for: Piano
Item no.: 287946
Vocal Score
for: 3 soloists (SABar), mixed choir (SATB), children's choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 288322
for: 4 cellos
Item no.: 284530
for: 2 violins
Ensemble score
Item no.: 626127
for: Piano
Item no.: 617084
for: Harp
Music score
Item no.: 861669