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: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 267341
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 267302
for: Oboe, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 267278
for: Clarinet
Single part
Item no.: 239063
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 965929
for: Cello or 2 Celli and Piano
Score
Item no.: 412000
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 258783
for: Vocal and Piano Reduction
Piano reduction
Item no.: 644834
for: Flute, piano
Item no.: 1352063
for: Female Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 818552
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590192
Book
Item no.: 977223
for: Jazz ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 796950
for: Oboe, piano
Music score
Item no.: 665518
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324594
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324552
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 854359
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1007517
for: Organ
Single part Organ
Item no.: 328525
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590653
for: Combo
Buch
Item no.: 1590438
for: Salon orchestra
Buch
Item no.: 1590392
for: Clarinet and Wind Instruments
Score
Item no.: 1107774
for: 11 Part Ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 964168
for: Wind Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1005399
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1007676
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1006945
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1006971
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 886392
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 886181
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 876361
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 875775
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 879508
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 878502
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 878211
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 878170
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 878000
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 883869
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 883787
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 883450
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 883279
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 883134
for: Vocal and Strings
Score
Item no.: 881304
for: Children's Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 881123
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 922552
for: Choir a Cappella
Score
Item no.: 922199
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 922099