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: Gitarrenduo
Buch
Item no.: 149650
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 239026
for: Chamber ensemble
Study score
Item no.: 227406
for: Horn, piano
Book
Item no.: 997303
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 217515
for: Bläserquartett
Score, Parts
Item no.: 347599
Joint publishing venture with Editio Musica Budapest Zeneműkiadó
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 1558558
for: Cor anglais, organ
Organ score, solo part
Item no.: 770521
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 357564
for: für Orchester
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 294653
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Score
Item no.: 113444
for: für Flöte,Oboe,Klarinette und Fagott
Score
Item no.: 413054
for: für tiefe Singstimme und Klavier
Item no.: 228453
for: Violine, Flöte oder 2.Violine, Klarinette in a oder Viola, Cello und Klavier
Partitur
Item no.: 112936
for: Organ
Item no.: 287780
for: Salon orchestra
Piano part for conductor, Parts
Item no.: 1105701
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 239392
for: Clarinet (B-flat), piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 238974
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Score
Item no.: 176934
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 820002
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 819643
for: Soprano or Tenor Voice and Piano
Score
Item no.: 818928
for: Voice
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 818130
for: Violin, piano
Score
Item no.: 240798
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239360
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239317
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239248
for: Cello and Piano Reduction
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1548070
for: Brass ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 973683
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 923216
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C)
Item no.: 1193472
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 780519
for: Viola, piano
Book
Item no.: 964175
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 964151
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 964146
for: Orchestra, Libretto
Buch
Item no.: 315490
for: SATB and Orchestra
Score
Item no.: 858726
for: Flute, Oboe and Piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 858616
for: Violin, viola, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 656255
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 966113
for: Women's choir (SSA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 320460
for: Viola, piano
Buch
Item no.: 861242
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 861292
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 860814
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 860348
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 859620
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 859447
for: Educazione Musicale
Book
Item no.: 411244