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: Timpani, piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 198533
for: Guitar
Score
Item no.: 253573
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239228
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 223743
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 173487
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 778448
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Item no.: 104470
for: Voice, piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 771166
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1357425
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1351118
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1351117
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 135324
for: Clarinet
Music score, CD
Item no.: 1541494
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 564800
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 332378
for: Mixed Quintet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 267775
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Mixed Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 389604
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 620515
for: Cello
Score
Item no.: 616607
for: Piano
Item no.: 636585
Music score
Item no.: 611299
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 834752
for: Mixed choir (SATB), orchestra [piano]
Choir parts (Soprano, Alto)
Item no.: 344741
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 268110
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 240123
for: Treble, Tenor, Baritone Voice, Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 227318
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 238898
for: 2 flutes, piano
Music score
Item no.: 129678
for: Symphonic Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 487298
for: Solo voice (baritone), mixed choir (SATB)
Choir score
Item no.: 559376
for: Women's choir [children's choir] (2–3 parts)
Choir score
Item no.: 1162448
for: Male choir (TTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 850333
for: Male choir (TBarB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 850263
for: Women's choir (2 voices) [male choir]
Choir score
Item no.: 850367
for: Women's choir (SSA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 822666
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 831970
for: Children's choir (SSA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 851075
for: Women's choir [male choir] (3 voices)
Choir score
Item no.: 850848
for: Women's choir (SMezA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 850833
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 140905
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 1353266
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1207054
for: Male choir (TB), trumpet
Score
Item no.: 1108917
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 850413
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 851373
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 851259
for: Voice, piano
Score
Item no.: 852603
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 853503