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: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 412850
for: Guitar or Lute
Score
Item no.: 132160
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239331
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411171
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 263080
for: Male choir, orchestra
Choir score
Item no.: 1105831
Vol. I: Bowing Technique
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 1011294
for: Flute
Score
Item no.: 884196
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 881274
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 879597
for: Children's Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 922053
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 326762
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir part Bass
Item no.: 670860
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 411407
for: Piano Quintet [Piano, Cello, Viola and 2 Violins]
Score, Parts
Item no.: 445573
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 161847
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 915127
for: Trumpet
Music score
Item no.: 885050
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411098
for: Male choir (TTBB); piano ad lib.
Choir part Bass 1
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for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 851566
for: Percussion instruments
Score
Item no.: 412184
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 486993
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Music score
Item no.: 134286
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 635573
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 778476
for: Voice, piano
Music score
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for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 923103
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
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for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 884995
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 881751
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 857543
for: Vocal and Strings
Score
Item no.: 892238
for: Choir
Score
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for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 922031
for: Choir
Score
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for: Piano
Music score
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for: Piano 4 hands
Score
Item no.: 868429
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 885984
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 867553
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 882998
for: Theory
Buch
Item no.: 876859
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 891507
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1000670
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1000531
for: Voice, piano
Score
Item no.: 389634
for: Mixed Ensemble
Study score
Item no.: 339882