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: Clarinet (B-flat), piano
Piano score, Solo part (pdf download)
Item no.: 1485
Nr. 3, aus "Schlichte Weisen", op. 76
for: Voice (high), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1769
for flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat and bassoon
for: Flöte, Oboe, Klarinette in B und Fagott
Set of parts
Item no.: 748163
Suite for orchestra (1919) arranged for 2 pianos by Achilleas Wastor (2015)
for: 2 pianos
Noten 2 Exemplare zur Aufführung nötig
Item no.: 760180
F
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
Item no.: 1034152
for: Organ
Sheet music
Item no.: 2086
Paris, 1900
for: Oboe [flute/clarinet (B-flat)/violin], cello [viola/bassoon/clarinet (B-flat)], piano
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 5249
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272482
"When at night I go to sleep" from "Hansel and Gretel"
for: Sopran, Mezzo-Sopran und Klavier
Music score
Item no.: 738103
Nr. 3, aus "Schlichte Weisen", op. 76
for: Voice (low), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1771
per canto e pianoforte
for: Voice (high), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 4070
A Collection of new Dance-rhythms
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 759181
Russian Dance
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 724088
for: 2 flutes, 2 clarinets
Sheet music
Item no.: 1210239
for violin, viola and violoncello
for: Violin, viola, cello (string trio)
Study score
Item no.: 748075
Edition Schott
for: Cello, piano
Music score
Item no.: 738008
Revised version (1903-1904, rev. 1905)
for: Violin, orchestra
Piano reduction, solo parts
Item no.: 732549
for bassoon and string quintet or string orchestra
for: Bassoon, string quintet [string orchestra]
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 749339
per canto e pianoforte
for: Voice (medium), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 4071
3 Vortragsstücke
for: Double bassoon
Music score
Item no.: 723089
Edition Schott
for: Gitarre und Streichquartett
Set of parts
Item no.: 732600
for: Bläserchor mit Orgel und Pauken
Partitur mit eingelegter Orgelstimme
Item no.: 760459
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 760596
from the opera "The Dead City"
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 747179
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 754044
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1840
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 759840
Maria sitzt am Rosenhag
Lied
for: Voice (medium), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 3277
Edition Schott
for: 2 treble recorders (duet)
Ensemble score
Item no.: 749611
for: Organ
Sheet music
Item no.: 3489
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272453
Original Pieces
for: Flöte und Klavier, Basso ad libitum
Score, part
Item no.: 758516
from the opera "The Dead City"
for: Voice (baritone/alto), piano
Music score
Item no.: 731628
aus der Oper "Hänsel und Gretel"
for: 2 horns (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1608
Ninna-Nanna
for: Voice (medium), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 3291
from: Drei Lieder
for: Voice (baritone/alto), piano
Music score
Item no.: 750938
C
for: Violin, Narrator
Instrumental Solo
Item no.: 1050653
No. 5 Irish Tune from County Derry
for: gemischter Chor (SATBarBarB)
Chorpartitur mit unterlegter Klavierstimme zum Üben
Item no.: 748772
from Turandot
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1341213
"Chrisimas Day in the morning"
for: Frauenchor oder Kinderchor (SSAA) oder 4 solo Singstimmen
Choir score
Item no.: 755312
Jerusalem
for Voice (Medium / High) and Piano
for: Voice (medium/high), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 2982
G
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Vocal
Item no.: 1026408
from Gianni Schicchi
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 722350
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612123
from The Planets
for: Cello, piano
Music score
Item no.: 722323
for medium voice and piano
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 784172
Eb
for: Piano, Voice, High Voice
Piano/Vocal
Item no.: 1562189
C
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
Item no.: 1028814