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.
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2
Item no.: 218319
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3, 4
Item no.: 218859
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2, 3
Item no.: 220095
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 4, Bass instrument
Item no.: 220003
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3
Item no.: 219808
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part 1 (accordion solo)
Item no.: 219754
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 1
Item no.: 220345
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 1, 2
Item no.: 220234
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2
Item no.: 220200
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 4, Bass instrument, Electronium, Percussion
Item no.: 220169
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Electronium
Item no.: 221700
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 4, Bass instrument
Item no.: 219459
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 4
Item no.: 219399
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2
Item no.: 219360
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3, Electronium
Item no.: 219243
Fassung mit gemischtem Chor
Text: Afrikaans
for: 2 soloists (SBar), mixed choir (SATB), string orchestra, organ
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 624341
Fassung mit gemischtem Chor
Text: Afrikaans
for: 2 soloists (SBar), mixed choir (SATB), string orchestra, organ
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 624287
Fassung mit gemischtem Chor
Text: Afrikaans
for: 4 soloists (SATB), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra, organ
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 624199
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2
Item no.: 301456
für Violine, Violoncello, u. gr. Orchester
for: Violin, cello
Single part
Item no.: 305852
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2, 3, 4 (Bass instrument)
Item no.: 604611
for: Accordion
Single part(n)
Item no.: 420238
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 619667
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 2
Item no.: 221714
6 Choralvorspiele für Orgel
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 420352
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 4
Item no.: 222793
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3
Item no.: 220201
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3, Electronium
Item no.: 219229
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 340036
for: Piano, orchestra
Double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 372985
Single part Bass instrument 1
Item no.: 386787
for: Accordion
Single part(n)
Item no.: 394269
for: Clarinet
Single part clarinet solo
Item no.: 646402
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3, 4 (Bass instrument)
Item no.: 219901
Trilogy for Organ
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 340038
Trilogy for Organ
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 340037
Kirchenliedproprium für Orgel
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 420367
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 420142
Kantate zum Lob des Weines nach Texten verschiedener Dichter für Solostimme, Chor und Blechbläser oder Klavier
Single part Horn
Item no.: 882143
4 Tunes from the Scottish Island of Sanday
for: String quartet [string orchestra]
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 385693
for: 2 violins, viola, cello; double bass ad lib.
Single part Violin 1
Item no.: 373799
for: Viola [violin/cello], string orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 580170
9. Hurl of the Wind
for: Frauenchor / Blasinstrumente / Streichquartett / Klavier
Single part Violin 2
Item no.: 354493
for: 4 Hörner in F, 3 Trompeten in B und 3 Posaunen
Single part Trombone 2
Item no.: 354913
Lateinamerikanische Tänze
for: Orchestra
Single part for mallets
Item no.: 266289
Violoncello, Kontrabass
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 272598
for: Accordion
Single part(n)
Item no.: 214155
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 282943