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.
Geistliche Musik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), organ
Choir score
Item no.: 1110109
for: Concert band
Set of parts
Item no.: 1144953
from Five Irish Songs
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Single edition
Item no.: 1081142
From Little Suite No.2
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1144052
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 973080
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 1172339
for: Opera
Buch
Item no.: 1136952
for: Voice
Buch
Item no.: 1171700
for: Streichtrio
Buch
Item no.: 1139541
for: Voice
Choir score
Item no.: 1175012
Klassik
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590627
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Single edition
Item no.: 1081303
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1141072
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1530330
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1204682
for: Voice, organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202313
for: Organ manuals [harmonium]
Music score
Item no.: 1201476
for: Oboe, piano
Music score
Item no.: 791214
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1015232
Preciosa
for: Bassoon
Item no.: 328061
Preciosa
for: Oboe
Item no.: 328060
Violine und Klavier
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 329090
for: 2 FL OB KLAR 2 FAG
Score, Parts
Item no.: 582869
for: GCH 3 TRP ORG
Item no.: 191417
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202514
for: BAS VL VA VC KB
Score, Parts
Item no.: 187935
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 474209
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 474205
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 186394
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 183852
for: Horn, piano
Item no.: 474151
for: 2 treble recorders (duet)
Item no.: 212719
pour instruments à vent, percussions et piano
for: Wind ensemble, percussion, piano
Harmony parts (complete winds)
Item no.: 424487
From "Appalachian Spring"
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791549
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 401588
for: 3 saxophones (SABar)
Item no.: 303997
for: Flute, viola
Item no.: 229039
for: 5 woodwinds (quintet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 200365
Shawnee Press
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1123123
for: Violin, viola, piano
Single part Viola
Item no.: 622672
Danza final (Malambo) aus dem gleichnamigen Ballett von Alberto Ginastera
Rhythmische argentinische Klänge und moderne Musik, vereint in einem wundervollen Werk für Akkordeon-Orchester
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 655828
for: Viola, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 226730
for: 4 Klarinetten
Score, Parts
Item no.: 469227
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 365176