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.
Pentatonik
for: Voice, recorder, percussion
Score
Item no.: 351673
op. posth.
for: für Soli: Sopran, Tenor, Chor SATB und Orchester
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 350143
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Alto saxophone, string orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 584132
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 359009
aus der Suite Nr. 2 für Jazz Orchester
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 4
Item no.: 213889
for: Guitar
Single part(n)
Item no.: 102659
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 266630
op. 29, No.2
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792235
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 275409
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1202498
Original Keys for High Voice/Medium Voice
The Vocal Library
for: Voice (medium/high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 773930
for: Voice and Saxophone Quartet
Score
Item no.: 977204
for: für Orgel, Streichorchester und Pauken
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 124651
für Streichorchester
Violoncello
for: String orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 661760
for: Violin, viola, cello (string trio)
Score
Item no.: 420223
for: Violin, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1204163
Klavier
for: Piano
Item no.: 1610857
aus der Suite Nr. 2 für Jazz Orchester
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 1
Item no.: 213886
Messa a 4 voci con orchestra, SC 6
for: 2 soloists (TBar), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 676724
Gegenwartsmusik
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1163702
Symphonic Series
for: Wind Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1149316
Klassik
for: Voice and Piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1539222
Symphonic Psalm after a drama by René Morax
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1115068
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1549369
for: Choir (2 voices), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1531357
Symphonic Series
for: Wind Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1149335
Klassik
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 836176
Klassik
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 1177617
Klassik
for: Violin, viola, cello (string trio)
Study score
Item no.: 611570
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 131939
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 962111
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Score
Item no.: 1031927
for: Voice (high), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1633293
Klassik
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 839700
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 837162
for: Clarinet, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1174572
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1212416
Gegenwartsmusik
for: 4 clarinets
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1163730
FJH Masterworks for Concert Band
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 968608
Nr. 5 Sie wissen's nicht (hoch E-Dur)
for: Voice (high), piano
Single part(n)
Item no.: 100518
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1593967
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1105973
Die Geschichte von dem König und der klugen Frau (1941-42)
for: Solo voices, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 288318
Boosey and Hawkes Quarter Military Band
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 465963
Klassik
for: SATB, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone Voice and Piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 835638
Winthrop Rogers Edition
for: Voice (low), piano
Music score
Item no.: 662787
Variations on an old slave song
for: Baritone, Mixed Choir [SATB] and Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 644346
for: Women's Choir [SA] and Piano
Choir score
Item no.: 899652