After the Second World War, there emerged a new generation of composers, who sought to stretch the boundaries of music history, and find new and exciting styles and forms. Browse our sheet music and scores, take a look at our Modern Classical Music, and explore the wide world of contemporary music with Stretta Music today!
Dodecaphony or Serialism is the use of the twelve semi-tones as the harmonic and structural basis, rather than the traditional harmonic key structure which governed classical music until the turn of the twentieth century. Arnold Schoenberg was the father of twelve-tone composition in the 1930s. Moving into the post-war era, all dodecaphonic or serial musical parameters, including note lengths, dynamics and even timbres were set in rows. After 1948, the Darmstadt “holiday courses” became the centre of Dodecaphony or Serialism for almost a decade. Despite the mathematical and logical basis, twelve-tone composition still produced many highly emotional works such as Luigi Nono’s Il Canto sospeso.
As the technical and electronic possibilities continued to grow and thrive after the war, the first studio solely dedicated to electronic music was founded in Cologne in 1951 by Herbert Eimert. Important electronic music composers were Edgar Varese, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Ernst Krenek, Maurice Kagel, Luciano Berio and Iannis Xenakis, who was also an assistant to the architect Le Corbusier.
Aleatoric comes from the Latin “alea”, meaning dice. Aleatoric composition leaves elements of the music to chance. The American composer John Cage was the first to experiment with aleatoric music, and many others followed, in particular K. Stockhausen, P. Boulez, W. Lutosławski.
Soundscape composition plays with sense and emotion, it uses long drawn musical landscapes to give the listener time to recognise and experience the music in a whole new way. The most important compositions include Atmosphères and Lontano by György Ligeti. Other works of this type were created by Luigi Nono, Krzysztof Penderecki, Iannis Xenakis.
Minimalism also came to Europe from the USA. Minimalism uses repetitive, wide blocks of sound, without strong contrasts or dramatic changes. It is in the repetition, with gradual, small changes, that the minimalist effect is achieved. The pioneers of minimalism in the 1960s were American composers Philip Glass, John Adams, Le Monte Young, Terry Riley and Steve Reich. They were followed in Europe by Henryk Górecki and Arvo Pärt.
Canticum Simeonis
for: gemischter Chor (SSAATTBB), Bariton und Bassflöte
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 111447
for: Flöte, Klarinette, Schlagzeug, Harfe, Klavier, Violine und Violoncello
Score
Item no.: 111305
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 105851
for: KLAR-A VL VC
Ensemble score
Item no.: 419856
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 420234
for: GES-H BASS
Item no.: 421214
for: Piano
Item no.: 213635
for: Women's choir (SSA) a cappella
Item no.: 476794
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 194032
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 1242
for: Cello, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 483982
for: Violin, viola, cello (string trio)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 218100
for: Viola, piano
Item no.: 192696
Contempore
for: 3 BFL (SAB) / 2 VL VC
Item no.: 192141
for: Accordion
Set of parts
Item no.: 227922
for: Bassoon
Item no.: 216904
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 211336
for: Viola [violin/cello], string orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 212411
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 219433
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 219378
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 219373
for: HH SOLO
Item no.: 219366
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 219291
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 218885
for: Piano
Item no.: 299092
Werkeinführung
Schriftenreihe "Die Oper" über musikalische Bühnenwerke
Students book
Item no.: 298499
for: Accordion
Item no.: 260953
Parti Coro
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 260370
Per 8 Strumentisti (1986)
for: Mixed Ensemble
Score
Item no.: 260013
Per Flauto In Do
for: Flute
Score
Item no.: 259788
Un Tratto Per Clarinetto Basso
for: Clarinet
Score
Item no.: 259746
Score
Item no.: 259629
Per Violino, Violoncello E Pianoforte
for: Trio
Score
Item no.: 259623
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Quintet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 259563
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Piano Trio
Score
Item no.: 259519
Opera Completa
for: Vocal and Piano Reduction
Piano reduction
Item no.: 259342
Per Viola E Orchestra Da Camera
for: Violin and Chamber Orchestra
Score
Item no.: 259258
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 259187
Per Sestetto Vocale Misto
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 259113
Da 'Cinque Frammenti All'Italia'
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 259107
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 219665
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 221961
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 221720
Varianten über eine Wagnersche Akkordverbindung
for: Viola, chamber orchestra
Solostimme
Item no.: 353384
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 353753
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 355081