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.
Ein Igel saß auf einem Stein
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308920
Ich fliehe wie ein wundes Wild
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308900
Zum Sterben bin ich verliebet
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308876
für Kontrabass und Orchester
for: KB ORCH
Study score
Item no.: 310158
Eine kleine Suite für Orchester
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 310080
for: String orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 310038
f. Bläs.quint.
for: 5 wind instruments
Study score
Item no.: 309961
for: Voice, piano
Single edition
Item no.: 307285
Kommen Sie Polka tanzen. Polka, Akk. -bzw. Git. begl.
for: Voice, piano
Single edition
Item no.: 307261
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 305787
for: Piano
Item no.: 305508
for: Piano
Item no.: 305470
for: ORCH (ENSEMBLE)
ST (KL ORCH)
Item no.: 291362
Vx Solistes/Choeur/Orgue
for: Voice, Choir + Organ
Score
Item no.: 292294
for: Opera
Buch
Item no.: 249302
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 249175
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1201504
for: Accordion orchestra
Item no.: 222964
Klassik
for: Flute
Score
Item no.: 238455
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 3
Item no.: 188437
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 1
Item no.: 188435
for: Classical
Score
Item no.: 186682
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Item no.: 476415
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 183850
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 183618
Text von Günter Wagner
for: GES (1-4) KCH (3)
Item no.: 123232
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 199037
Gesang+Klavier
for: Voice (high), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 197113
for: Organ
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 285370
Piano reduction
Item no.: 284685
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Item no.: 284640
Diese Ausgabe enthält nur die Solostimme
for: Soprano saxophone, piano
Single part
Item no.: 204747
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 134006
for: Violin, viola, piano
Item no.: 133980
Klassik
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 408378
Item no.: 405404
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 405391
for: Male choir
Item no.: 582006
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 587333
Single edition
Item no.: 473112
for: Electric organ
Item no.: 475029
for: Voice (alto)
Item no.: 493233
4 kleine Motetten
for: Women's choir (SA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 115425
for: GCH MCH ORG
Item no.: 550221
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 493498
for: Harmonium [organ manuals]
Item no.: 485168
for: Mandolin orchestra
Score
Item no.: 478715
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 154395