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: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1145041
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Single edition
Item no.: 1081531
for: Brass band
Set of parts
Item no.: 1144958
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1195237
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1539507
for: MARIMBA KLAV,XYL KLAV
Item no.: 648240
Geistliche Musik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 638787
for: 2 Git Vc
Item no.: 636426
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1096152
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Single edition
Item no.: 1082882
Study Score
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1558766
for: Brass band
Set of parts
Item no.: 1590916
for: 2 trumpets, horn, 2 trombones, tuba
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1590994
Übungen und Studien für Klavier
Heft 2: Übungen und Studien
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1640222
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 476981
zusammen mit Lang, H.: Der alte Sünder
for: Concert band
Item no.: 304458
for: TRP-C 4
Item no.: 303582
Nach der vierten Ekloge des Vergil für Solo-Bass, vierstimmigen gemischten Chor und Instrumente
for: GES-T (B) GCH ENSEMBLE
Study score
Item no.: 310439
for: Accordion orchestra
Single part Accordion 1, 2
Item no.: 126475
for: 3 recorders
Music score
Item no.: 487464
for: Piano
Item no.: 486980
for: Piano
Item no.: 346799
for: GES-M (KCH) KLAV
Item no.: 114261
for: Trumpet
Study score
Item no.: 114083
for: 2 Oboen Violine, Viola, Streicher, Klavier
Study score
Item no.: 114048
for: TENOR 1
Choir part Tenor 1
Item no.: 104132
Study score
Item no.: 104111
for: SAX QUARTETT MARIMBA
Study score
Item no.: 132890
for: Organ
Item no.: 255498
Walzer, für gem. Chor, Orchester (Klavier)
for: Mixed choir, piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 307862
for: Flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon (wind quintet)
Study score
Item no.: 310207
for: String orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 310060
für Streichquartett
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 309934
for: Guitar
Item no.: 306242
für Kontrabass u. Orchester, Ausgabe für Kontrabass u. Klavier
for: Double bass, piano
Item no.: 306014
für Viola u. Kammerorchester, Ausgabe für Viola u. Klavier
for: Viola, piano
Item no.: 305915
for: FL OB KLAR HRN FAG VL VC KB
Set of parts
Item no.: 306587
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 305805
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 305784
for: Piano
Item no.: 305486
Buch
Item no.: 252650
Buch
Item no.: 251214
Buch
Item no.: 250473
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 251407
for: Organ
Item no.: 104920
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1201523