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: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 659175
Russische Klaviermusik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 635578
für Klavier
for: Piano
Item no.: 366322
for: 4 Klarinetten
Buch
Item no.: 368257
for: ORG (+ BL)
Item no.: 133113
for: Klarinette (oder Cello), Klavier
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 394651
for: Accordion
Single edition
Item no.: 405411
C
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1554109
D
for: Piano, Oboe
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589182
C
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1046539
aus: Sieben Sprüche für mehrstimmigen Chor
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 771584
Reprint
Repertoire Explorer
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 1344860
for: Choir and Concert Band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1077695
Marsch
aus der Reihe "Light & Flexi Plus"
for: Flexible wind band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 796989
Piano reduction
Item no.: 164177
for: Zither (6 chords)
Backing sheet
Item no.: 151973
for: 4 trombones (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 584930
for: Salon orchestra
Item no.: 457414
for soprano and alto saxophone
for: 2 saxophones (SA)
Parts (2)
Item no.: 341149
for: Organ
Item no.: 362067
Collection Pierre Pierlot
for: Oboe, harp
Ensemble score
Item no.: 348456
voor gemengd koor a cappella
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 489257
für vier Gitarren
for: 4 guitars (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 413387
für die Violine allein
for: Violin
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 170419
Six Feuilles d'Album
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 420400
Contemporary Sacred Choral Music
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 144050
for: 4 guitars (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 136462
for voice (soprano) and piano
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 249001
Repertoire Explorer
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 555764
Omaggio a Roncalli
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 253427
for: Salon orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 128102
Orgel und Harfe (Piano)
Studienpartitur
for: KAMMERMUSIK SONSTIGE BESETZUNGEN TRIOS
Study score
Item no.: 633455
für vier Hörner
for: 4 horns (quartet)
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 655790
Score, Parts
Item no.: 370501
Archivio Bossi
for: Cello [viola], piano
Item no.: 329221
Item no.: 618894
für Klavier und Orchester
Studienpartitur
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 329924
Defiliermarsch op. 79
Marschformat
RUNDEL Julius-Fucik-Edition
for: Small wind band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 327746
Streicher, Hörner und Pauken
Studienpartitur
for: ORCHESTERWERKE KAMMERORCHESTER SOLO-ORGEL
Study score
Item no.: 612725
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 266222
Reprint
Repertoire Explorer
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 555909
for: Zither (3 chords)
Backing sheet
Item no.: 135405
Reprintausgabe
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 140869
for: Flute, piano
Item no.: 138871
Für Orgel
Musik für Orgel
for: Organ
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 112527
for: Treble recorder, piano
Ensemble score, solo part
Item no.: 420078
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 198932