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.
From "Four Children"
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 791947
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1530283
Sudien und Übungen
for: Solfege
Book
Item no.: 1178247
Flex-Band Grade 3
for: Flexible wind band
Score
Item no.: 1654719
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 1143339
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1171432
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 964389
Die Heilige Stadt
for: Blechbläserquartett
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1132355
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1212645
for: Concert band
Conductors part
Item no.: 1629146
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1530326
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 1110789
for: Saxophone ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1132469
Solfege Version A:Cle Sol 2Eme Sans Accompagnement
for: Solfege
Book
Item no.: 819866
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1145277
for: Viola Quartet
Buch
Item no.: 1176286
Klassik
for: Women's choir (SSA), piano
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 912815
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 1175036
for: 4 clarinets
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1132302
for: Mezzo or Baritone Voice
Book
Item no.: 1118723
for: Salon Orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1170803
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1172539
for: PERC (6-7)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 374235
for: VL (FL) GIT
Score, Parts
Item no.: 366800
for: Male choir (TTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 370207
Single part (Flute solo)
Item no.: 368802
Sudien und Übungen
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 367538
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202510
Männerchor
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 458919
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 346046
for: Piano
Item no.: 346767
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 471985
Item no.: 610683
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197307
Klavier
for: Piano
Piano score
Item no.: 197122
Gesang+Klavier
for: Voice (low), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 197114
for: 2 guitars
Item no.: 147159
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3, 4
Item no.: 148233
Motette für das Erntefest
for: Women's choir (SSA), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 171839
for: 4 recorders (SATB quartet)
Item no.: 158049
for: 4 bassoons
Score, Parts
Item no.: 246213
for: Flute, piano
Item no.: 295656
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 290759
Glocken Verlag
for: Violin, piano
Single part(n)
Item no.: 562757
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 290583
for: Soprano saxophone, piano
Item no.: 290446
for: Mandolin orchestra
Score
Item no.: 290423
for: Flöte Klarinette, Fagott, ORCH
Score
Item no.: 261664