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: 4 soloists (SATB), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Lyric book
Item no.: 1105975
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 874015
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 873434
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 873364
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 873097
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 872268
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 871799
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 868466
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 864661
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 862648
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 862408
for: Voice (medium), piano
Score
Item no.: 266629
for: Harp
Music score
Item no.: 324160
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 839530
for: 2 pianos, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 635530
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 625500
for: Mixed Ensemble
Score
Item no.: 820870
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 645814
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 819913
for: Symphonic orchestra
Book
Item no.: 1213534
for: Double Bass Duet
Book
Item no.: 962832
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1213210
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1017058
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Book
Item no.: 993180
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 992688
for: Viola
Music score
Item no.: 818802
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 240954
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239509
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239368
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 819715
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 820080
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 266620
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239329
for: Organ
Score
Item no.: 100776
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 134940
for: Flute, Violin and Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 977176
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Lyric book
Item no.: 778812
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Lyric book
Item no.: 778226
for: Trumpet
Score
Item no.: 776846
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 821903
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 821749
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 821716
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 821652
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 821597
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 821481
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 821446
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 821428
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 853288