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: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 949557
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 1145136
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 1144871
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1143982
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1169942
for: Violin, Cello and Organ
Score, Parts
Item no.: 965117
for: Bläserquintett
Study score
Item no.: 316032
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1001651
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 927139
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1053336
Choir score
Item no.: 839468
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 838977
for: Voice
Piano reduction
Item no.: 838387
for: Chamber ensemble
Buch
Item no.: 836712
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 839497
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324419
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324512
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 239746
for: Piano Quintet [Piano, Cello, Viola and 2 Violins]
Score, Parts
Item no.: 445573
for: Trumpet
Music score
Item no.: 885050
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 134286
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 778476
for: Woodwind ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 928742
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1005423
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 1007101
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 1007055
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 893529
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1006819
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1006658
for: Voice (low)
Book
Item no.: 1005800
for: Voice
Book
Item no.: 1007047
for: Cello, orchestra
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 964099
for: Voice and various instruments
Score
Item no.: 1353264
for: Mezzo or Baritone Voice
Book
Item no.: 997182
for: Voices and Piano
Book
Item no.: 993538
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 992452
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 992828
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Score
Item no.: 992827
for: 2 Recorders or C Instruments and Percussion
Book
Item no.: 993568
for: Bassoon
Score
Item no.: 977446
for: Voice, guitar
Book
Item no.: 1102737
for: Horn
Music score
Item no.: 926825
for: 3 woodwinds (trio)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 178318
for: Woodwind ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 927568
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1017496
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