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: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605641
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605640
for: Accordion, strings
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 1696778
for: Piccolo, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605908
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1605903
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615253
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615245
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615179
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615178
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615173
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1611742
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1611738
Piano / Guitar / Tambourine / Percussion / Drums optional
for: 8 brass winds (octet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1313199
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1313090
Trumpet Tutors and Studies
for: Trumpet [cornet]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1316838
Horn Tutors and Studies
for: F or Eb Horn
Sheet music
Item no.: 1316837
for: Trombone or Euphonium (Bass Clef)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272549
from Gianni Schicchi
for: Voice (soprano), orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1311390
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1311164
Clarinet Solo
for: Clarinet, string orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1313039
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314252
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314154
for: Clarinet
Music score
Item no.: 859130
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1115093
for: Women's choir (SA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 851048
Klassik
for: Soprano saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276335
Klassik
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276333
Klassik
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276331
Klassik
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276330
for: 5 clarinets (quintet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276749
for: Flexible ensemble (4 voices)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276741
for: 4 brass instruments
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276735
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1276712
for: Tuba, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275832
for: Cornet (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275831
for: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275826
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Book
Item no.: 886415
Edition Schott
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 749411
(Hommage à Sor)
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 736493
for: Flute ensemble
Buch
Item no.: 858170
Studien-Edition
for: Horn, orchestra
Study score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1692367
über ein ukrainisches Volkslied
für Balaleika und Klavier
for: Balalaika, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1654035
for: Small wind band
Set of parts
Item no.: 1657784
Messa a 4 voci con orchestra, SC 6
for: 2 soloists (TBar), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 676721