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: 3 solo voices (STB), orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 365192
on a Theme by J. S. Bach
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 247911
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 322052
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 315678
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 173956
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 317098
for: Trombone
Music score
Item no.: 939409
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 352857
for: Trumpet [cornet], trombone, piano
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 1270849
for: Organ
Item no.: 293345
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1016888
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 334420
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 321548
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 318342
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 577818
for: 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos (sextet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 216704
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 484886
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 577454
for: Voice, piano
Choir score
Item no.: 321663
for: Voice (medium)
Book
Item no.: 317111
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 898392
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 366654
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 241104
for: 2 recorders (SA), piano
Piano score, ensemble score
Item no.: 354669
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 669482
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 673478
for: Viola
Item no.: 632060
for: Violin, piano
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 179952
for: Symphonic Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 487298
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 405837
for: Piano
Item no.: 356339
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 326630
Music of Our Time
for: Violin, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 288511
for: Organ
Item no.: 287780
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Lyric book
Item no.: 199269
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 352825
for: Violin, viola, cello (string trio)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 660949
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 687722
for: Violin, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 628334
for: Flute, piano
Item no.: 297040
for: Cello, piano
Item no.: 138711
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197668
for: Piano
Item no.: 197088
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 433048
for: Piano
Item no.: 268394
for: Piano
Item no.: 287905
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324439
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324421
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