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.
No. 2 of "Three Outdoor Scenes"
for: 2 violins, viola, cello, piano (piano quintet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 637317
for: Voice (bass), piano
Score
Item no.: 620641
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 312853
for: Organ
Item no.: 300948
Monodram für Englischhorn (Champagne 16. Jh.)
for: Oboe d'amore
Item no.: 298356
for: Electronic Organ
Book
Item no.: 1331386
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1201354
Klassik
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 923111
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 326606
Dreiteilige Motette
Möseler Chorreihe
for: Mixed choir (8 parts) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 274823
15. Schmerz - Keserves
for: Frauen- oder Kinderchor (SMezA)
Choir score
Item no.: 204450
for: Organ
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 285377
per chitarra
Edition Schott
for: Guitar
Single part(n)
Item no.: 393931
Score
for: Orchestra and Narrator
Score
Item no.: 318894
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1111235
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1110670
Nr. 1 Alemannischer Liederreigen
for: Frauenchor oder Kinderchor (SMez) mit Klavier
Choir score
Item no.: 782686
Nr. 2 Der Pokal (hoch Ges-Dur)
for: Voice (high), piano
Single part(n)
Item no.: 100639
Guntram - Feuersnot - Salome - Elektra - Der Rosenkavalier
for: PK (GLO/XYL)
Single part(n)
Item no.: 100611
Elektra
Band 5
for: KLAR (BASS-KLAR/BASS)
Single part(n)
Item no.: 100601
Nr. 4 Einkehr (hoch A-Dur)
for: Voice (high), piano
Single part(n)
Item no.: 100498
for: Bass Voice, SATB and Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 184643
Fantasie pour grand orchestre
Eulenburg Studienpartituren
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 392497
BB 114
Breitkopf Urtext Edition
for: String orchestra, piano, celesta, kettledrums, percussion, harp
Violin 4 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 661818
Petrulus hirrutusop. 49
for: Kinder- oder Jugendchor, 2 Flöten, Streichorchester und Klavier, Schlagzeug ad libitum
Choir score
Item no.: 579880
for: Viola [violin/cello], string orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 580171
for: Male choir (TTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 796163
Woodwind Solo
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 318951
1. Frau Nachtigall / 2. Ablösung
for: Women's choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 751654
Musikalische Legende in drei Akten
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Score (Hardcover)
Item no.: 287327
for: Flöte, Oboe, Klarinette, Horn, Trompete (C) und Fagott
Set of parts
Item no.: 351928
Kantate
for: Frauenchor (SSA) mit Kinderchor (SMezA), gemischter Chor (SSATBB) und kleinem Orchester
Partitur
Item no.: 351413
Klassik
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 858193
op. 77
for: Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 780299
Romantische Musik für Klarinette
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1009527
Highlights aus "Die Csárdásfürstin", "Gräfin Mariza", "Der Zigeunerprimas", "Die Zirkusprinzessin", etc.
1. Stimme
for: Flexible ensemble (5 voices); vocals ad lib.
Single part 1 in B-flat (trumpet)
Item no.: 690537
Highlights aus "Die Csárdásfürstin", "Gräfin Mariza", "Der Zigeunerprimas", "Die Zirkusprinzessin", etc.
4. Stimme
for: Flexible ensemble (5 voices); vocals ad lib.
Part 4 in E-flat (horn)
Item no.: 690511
for: GCH (MCH) KLAV
Item no.: 183858
for: Organ
Item no.: 485008
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324414
Klassik
for: Piano 4 hands
Score
Item no.: 324410
for: 4 OB
Score, Parts
Item no.: 342604
3 CDs
Item no.: 218070
for: Mandolin orchestra
Single part Mandola
Item no.: 373684
op.48
1949
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 683624
Kantate
for: Frauenchor (SSA) mit Kinderchor (SMezA), gemischtem Chor (SSATBB) und kleinem Orchester
Choir score (men voices)
Item no.: 782682