After the Second World War, there emerged a new generation of composers, who sought to stretch the boundaries of music history, and find new and exciting styles and forms. Browse our sheet music and scores, take a look at our Modern Classical Music, and explore the wide world of contemporary music with Stretta Music today!
Dodecaphony or Serialism is the use of the twelve semi-tones as the harmonic and structural basis, rather than the traditional harmonic key structure which governed classical music until the turn of the twentieth century. Arnold Schoenberg was the father of twelve-tone composition in the 1930s. Moving into the post-war era, all dodecaphonic or serial musical parameters, including note lengths, dynamics and even timbres were set in rows. After 1948, the Darmstadt “holiday courses” became the centre of Dodecaphony or Serialism for almost a decade. Despite the mathematical and logical basis, twelve-tone composition still produced many highly emotional works such as Luigi Nono’s Il Canto sospeso.
As the technical and electronic possibilities continued to grow and thrive after the war, the first studio solely dedicated to electronic music was founded in Cologne in 1951 by Herbert Eimert. Important electronic music composers were Edgar Varese, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Ernst Krenek, Maurice Kagel, Luciano Berio and Iannis Xenakis, who was also an assistant to the architect Le Corbusier.
Aleatoric comes from the Latin “alea”, meaning dice. Aleatoric composition leaves elements of the music to chance. The American composer John Cage was the first to experiment with aleatoric music, and many others followed, in particular K. Stockhausen, P. Boulez, W. Lutosławski.
Soundscape composition plays with sense and emotion, it uses long drawn musical landscapes to give the listener time to recognise and experience the music in a whole new way. The most important compositions include Atmosphères and Lontano by György Ligeti. Other works of this type were created by Luigi Nono, Krzysztof Penderecki, Iannis Xenakis.
Minimalism also came to Europe from the USA. Minimalism uses repetitive, wide blocks of sound, without strong contrasts or dramatic changes. It is in the repetition, with gradual, small changes, that the minimalist effect is achieved. The pioneers of minimalism in the 1960s were American composers Philip Glass, John Adams, Le Monte Young, Terry Riley and Steve Reich. They were followed in Europe by Henryk Górecki and Arvo Pärt.
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 173357
Suite for orchestra arranged for two pianos
The Virtuoso Piano Transcription Series
Two copies required for performance
for: 2 pianos
Ensemble score
Item no.: 680497
for: für Klavier
Item no.: 1135292
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 284593
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 624725
for: für 2 Frauenstimmen und Violoncello
Score, Parts
Item no.: 431949
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 144522
for: Blockflöte (A), Harfe, Streicher
Study score
Item no.: 111331
for: für Sopran und Klavier
Item no.: 277225
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 113253
for: für 5 Darsteller oder 5 Schlagzeugspieler
Score
Item no.: 113238
for: für Flöte, Oboe, Englischhorn, Klarinette in A und Fagott
Score
Item no.: 185786
for: Orchestra, audio tape
Score
Item no.: 170557
for: Piano
Item no.: 144913
for: Instruments, tape
Ensemble score
Item no.: 345338
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 176788
for: Piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 586092
for: Trombone, piano
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 114389
for: Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 117414
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 200199
for: Mallet Percussion, Voices and Organ
Study score
Item no.: 911972
for: Horn
Single edition
Item no.: 633695
for: Male choir
Score
Item no.: 660887
Small Organ Works and Cycles
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 617534
for: für Orgel
Item no.: 113445
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 136746
for: Organ
Item no.: 353800
for: Flöte, Klarinette und Streicher
Score
Item no.: 281779
for: Cello
Music score
Item no.: 584107
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 297548
for: Chamber orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 103020
for: Cello, piano
Item no.: 200218
for: Women's choir [children's choir] (3 voices), organ
Score
Item no.: 850666
Six pieces for grand orgue
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 674779
for: Viola, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 695657
Clarinet trio based on the 2nd movement of the Piano Sonata
for: Clarinet, cello, piano
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 679829
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 352896
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 295572
for: Oboe, violin, viola, cello
Study score
Item no.: 198728
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 100778
for: 3 Percussionists
Item no.: 345278
for: Piano
Item no.: 113792
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 270562
for: Flute, orchestra
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 646651
12 Melodies of the star signs
Werk Nr. 41 1/2
for: Several instruments
Score
Item no.: 676957
for: 4 guitars (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 680602
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 395583