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)
Study score
Item no.: 838978
for: Tuba
Music score
Item no.: 835929
Choir score
Item no.: 838410
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 835097
for: Violin, piano
Score
Item no.: 241023
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 993500
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 992950
for: Mezzo Soprano
Book
Item no.: 992713
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 996949
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 923181
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1007269
for: Violin, piano
Book
Item no.: 1007152
for: Wind Band
Book
Item no.: 1007870
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1006840
Score
Item no.: 1005701
for: Piano 4 hands
Book
Item no.: 1005312
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1005374
for: Flute, piano
Book
Item no.: 1007119
for: Piano Trio
Score, Parts
Item no.: 965056
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 872916
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 865068
for: Voice, piano
Score
Item no.: 992711
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 992570
for: Violin, piano
Book
Item no.: 300025
for: Voice (tenor), piano
Score
Item no.: 992817
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 928607
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 928485
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1141203
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1006094
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1007881
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 927778
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 926518
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 925857
for: Gemischter Chor (SATB), Gemeinde, 2 Oboen, 3 Trompeten, 3 Posaunen, [2 Blockflöten (SS)]
Score
Item no.: 230210
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 229487
for: Cello or 2 Celli and Piano
Score
Item no.: 1353297
for: Voice (medium), piano
Score
Item no.: 1353295
for: Vocal, Clarinet, Violin and 2 Pianos
Score
Item no.: 833173
for: Chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 833079
for: Saxophone
Music score
Item no.: 832924
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 832637
for: Guitar
Score
Item no.: 833462
for: FL OB KLAR STR
Score
Item no.: 420261
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 420232
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 420231
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