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: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1225013
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1225012
for: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1219083
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1219081
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216368
for: Bass clarinet
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216230
for: Baritone saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216225
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216224
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216215
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216193
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216185
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216174
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216172
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216168
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1216162
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1226193
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1226179
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1226054
for: Choral
Item no.: 1562401
for: Piano
Item no.: 1523400
for: 4 trumpets [4 cornets]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1746490
for: Big band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1746537
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1267795
for: Bassoon, piano
Book
Item no.: 216952
for: Piano
Item no.: 1638271
for: Piano
Item no.: 1637429
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1288502
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1613424
for: String orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1738759
for: 5 flutes (quintet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1738760
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1738771
for: Bass clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1738987
for: Horn (F), organ [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1738991
for: 5 bassoons
Sheet music
Item no.: 1746680
for: Bassoon, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1746780
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1746784
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1268042
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 636212
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part, online audio (playback)
Item no.: 485349
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 484726
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 942039
for: Concert band
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 937396
for: 5 clarinets (quintet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1217020
for: 5 saxophones
Sheet music
Item no.: 1217019
for: 4 trumpets [5 cornets]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1217018
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1217007
for: Solo voice, women's choir (SSAA)
Score
Item no.: 645125
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Score
Item no.: 1160641
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