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: 2 trumpets (B-flat), horn (F), trombone, tuba
Score, part
Item no.: 1200238
ohne den verschollenen ersten Satz
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, part
Item no.: 224546
für Trompete und Klavier
for: Trumpet, piano
Item no.: 227237
für Carillon
for: Glockenspiel
Ensemble score
Item no.: 380802
für Bläserorchester
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 380534
für Violoncello
for: Cello
Music score
Item no.: 659790
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 618302
for: Organ
Item no.: 466237
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1640562
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 196809
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 196487
(Monologue XIll)
for: Bass clarinet
Item no.: 228716
Gedämpfte Unterhaltung
for: Flute, Violin, Guitar and Cello
Score, Parts
Item no.: 328244
for: für 3 Klarinetten, Violoncello und Klavier
Score, Parts
Item no.: 208406
Originalfassung
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 442713
for: Flute
Item no.: 200201
aus der Kantate "Der weise Mann"
for: Flute [alto flute]
Item no.: 200179
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 1340
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 297562
Wycinanki
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 297546
for: Harp
Music score
Item no.: 481876
Repertoire der Blasinstrumente 68
for: Flute, piano
Ensemble score, solo part
Item no.: 289289
Serenade Nr. 4
for: 2 Oboen Violine, Viola, Streicher, Klavier
Set of parts
Item no.: 114047
(1980)
for: Clarinet, trombone, cello, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 635550
Study Score
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 659017
for: Violin, piano
Ensemble score, solo part
Item no.: 117061
for: 2 violins, viola, cello
Set of parts
Item no.: 115953
for: 2 violins, viola, cello
Set of parts
Item no.: 115822
for: für Sopran und 8 Violoncelli
Study score
Item no.: 462066
Piccola cantata
for: gemischten Chor (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 273892
for: Clarinet, piano
Item no.: 272996
op. 44
for: für Orchester
Partitur
Item no.: 272457
for: Clarinet (B-flat)
Music score
Item no.: 261564
for: Alto saxophone, organ
Item no.: 261456
Untersuchungen zur Sprache und Sprachlichkeit im zeitgenössichen Musikschaffen
Studien zur Wertungsforschung 39
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 301601
for: für Harfe
Item no.: 301391
for: für 2 Violinen, 2 Violen und 2 Violoncelli
Set of parts
Item no.: 301306
for: Flöte (Piccoloflöte), Violine, Cello, Klavier, Schlagzeug
Set of parts
Item no.: 459333
for: Flöte, Piccoloflöte, Oboe, Klarinette, Horn, Fagott
Set of parts
Item no.: 314770
for: Klarinette, Violine, Viola
Study score
Item no.: 196630
for: Piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 117751
for: Cello, piano
Ensemble score, solo part
Item no.: 117105
for: Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 117650
for: Piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 117597
Kammermusik auf einen Text von F. G. Klopstock für Sopran, Flöte, Violoncello, Schlagzeug und Celesta
for: Sopran solo, Flöte, Cello, Schlagzeug (Vibraphon, Röhrenglocken, Tamtam / Chau Gong (2)), Celesta
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 117572
2 Motetten für gemischten Chor
musica sacra nova
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 117267
Liturgische Gesänge 6. Einstimmiger Chor (auch im Wechsel mit Solostimmen) und Orgel (lateinisch / deutsch)
for: Choir, organ
Choir score
Item no.: 117150
for Organ
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 677680
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 666262