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: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 249400
for: Piano 4 hands
Item no.: 334881
Dame Kobold Op. 57 overture
Orchestra
for: Symphonic orchestra
Item no.: 1344119
Duo pour basson et contrebasse - original version and transcription fo
Chamber Music
Item no.: 1344512
for: Harmonium
Music score
Item no.: 1202826
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1203420
nach Klavierstücken aus Leopold Mozarts Notenbuch für Wolfgang
für Blockflötenquartett, Streichquartett oder andere Instrumente
– Sonderanfertigung. Verzögerte Lieferung –
for: 4 recorders [2 violins, viola, cello/4 melodic instruments]
Treble recorder (single part)
Item no.: 684546
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 941673
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 937424
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 939683
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 938585
March
BOVACO Classic CB
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1026681
March
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1066732
March
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1015918
March
BOVACO Classic CB
for: Concert band
Conductors part
Item no.: 1060207
Tosca
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1010899
The New Commonwealth
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1060540
BOVACO Classic CB
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1063221
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1063189
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1061598
Single part Bassoon
Item no.: 944959
Klassik
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 324337
for: Piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1535005
BOVACO Classic CB
for: Concert band
Conductors part
Item no.: 1025042
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1069333
Tango
BOVACO Classic CB
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1021020
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1063642
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1068097
March
for: Drum amd Bugle Corps
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1016428
March
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1063714
Das Orgelwerk
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 643414
for: Piano
Item no.: 1345324
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 984216
Klassik
for: Choir
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 984202
Klassik
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Book
Item no.: 984178
Klassik
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Book
Item no.: 984184
for: Salon orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 211013
Klassik
for: Oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Score, Parts
Item no.: 269703
Schule
for: Solfege
Buch
Item no.: 269554
Schule
for: Solfege
Buch
Item no.: 269549
Schutzengel-Messe S, A
for: SSolo, ASolo (Ch, acap)
Stimme(n)
Item no.: 643319
for: OB FAG CEMB
Item no.: 420244
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 420230
for: Cello, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 420180
for: Violin, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 420168
for: Mandolin orchestra
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 587071