After the Second World War, there emerged a new generation of composers, who sought to stretch the boundaries of music history, and find new and exciting styles and forms. Browse our sheet music and scores, take a look at our Modern Classical Music, and explore the wide world of contemporary music with Stretta Music today!
Dodecaphony or Serialism is the use of the twelve semi-tones as the harmonic and structural basis, rather than the traditional harmonic key structure which governed classical music until the turn of the twentieth century. Arnold Schoenberg was the father of twelve-tone composition in the 1930s. Moving into the post-war era, all dodecaphonic or serial musical parameters, including note lengths, dynamics and even timbres were set in rows. After 1948, the Darmstadt “holiday courses” became the centre of Dodecaphony or Serialism for almost a decade. Despite the mathematical and logical basis, twelve-tone composition still produced many highly emotional works such as Luigi Nono’s Il Canto sospeso.
As the technical and electronic possibilities continued to grow and thrive after the war, the first studio solely dedicated to electronic music was founded in Cologne in 1951 by Herbert Eimert. Important electronic music composers were Edgar Varese, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Ernst Krenek, Maurice Kagel, Luciano Berio and Iannis Xenakis, who was also an assistant to the architect Le Corbusier.
Aleatoric comes from the Latin “alea”, meaning dice. Aleatoric composition leaves elements of the music to chance. The American composer John Cage was the first to experiment with aleatoric music, and many others followed, in particular K. Stockhausen, P. Boulez, W. Lutosławski.
Soundscape composition plays with sense and emotion, it uses long drawn musical landscapes to give the listener time to recognise and experience the music in a whole new way. The most important compositions include Atmosphères and Lontano by György Ligeti. Other works of this type were created by Luigi Nono, Krzysztof Penderecki, Iannis Xenakis.
Minimalism also came to Europe from the USA. Minimalism uses repetitive, wide blocks of sound, without strong contrasts or dramatic changes. It is in the repetition, with gradual, small changes, that the minimalist effect is achieved. The pioneers of minimalism in the 1960s were American composers Philip Glass, John Adams, Le Monte Young, Terry Riley and Steve Reich. They were followed in Europe by Henryk Górecki and Arvo Pärt.
for: Doppelstreichquartett, Vogelstimmen und Schlagz, Studienpartitur
Study score
Item no.: 1542605
Audio-visual music theatre work
Lyrics
Item no.: 889633
for: SSAATTBB
Choir score
Item no.: 953059
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1139603
Klassik
for: Trombone, Piano and Percussion
Set of parts
Item no.: 858398
Five Miniatures
for: Horn, organ
Music score
Item no.: 759821
A Symphonic Portrait In Oil
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1622201
Pour Choeur A Quatre Voix Egales
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 853835
for: Cello
Single part Cello
Item no.: 1557590
Cantata
for: Choir
Piano reduction
Item no.: 951250
für Flöte und Klarinette
for: Flute, clarinet
Ensemble score
Item no.: 685866
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 772158
für Mezzosopran, Flöte, Violoncello und Klavier
for: Voice (mezzo-soprano), flute, cello, piano
Piano score
Item no.: 647229
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1147512
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1137983
Per voce recitante e orchestra
for: Narrator, chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 779031
for: Oboe
Music score
Item no.: 1211459
for: Soprano [Women's Choir], 2 Flutes, 2 Clarinets and Bass Clarinet
Score
Item no.: 891454
for: Flute, Harp and Strings
Set of parts
Item no.: 888621
Unterrichtsmaterial
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 647968
for: Violin, orchestra
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 905550
(Offenbarung 3, 14-21), Motette
for: gemischter Chor (SSAT/ATBB)
Choir score (Choir 1)
Item no.: 791059
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 846
for: Violin, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 866778
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1140682
for: Double bass, piano
Buch
Item no.: 1137820
in memoriam Dmitri Schostakowitsch
for: Violine, Viola, Violoncello, Klavier, Campanelli, Schlagzeug (2 Spieler)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1639237
for: Clarinet, cello, piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1639723
for violoncello and guitar quartet
for: 4 guitars, cello
Set of parts
Item no.: 1478452
per Clarinetto e Pianoforteop. 55
for: Clarinet, piano
Item no.: 1207912
for: Chamber ensemble
Buch
Item no.: 1542507
for: Clarinet, Ensemble
Score
Item no.: 1542512
für Sopran und Gitarre nach einem Gedicht von H. C. Artmann
for: Soprano and Guitar
Score
Item no.: 1541740
aus "Kanon Pokajanen"
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1019893
for: Mixed choir (SATB), 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, organ
Set of parts
Item no.: 1108936
Oratorische Szene nach dem Text der Vulgata
for: Alt, Tenor und Bass mit Begleitung von 40 Instrumenten
Piano reduction
Item no.: 289073
Item no.: 288990
for: 2 KLAV 4MS MCH SCHLAGZ
Item no.: 308490
für Männerchor u. 2 Klaviere (od. Klavier zu 4 Händen), 3 Pauken (od 2 Pk 1 gr Trommel)
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 308231
op. 7
for: für Streichquartett
Taschenpartitur
Item no.: 1135105
Anton Webern 1940)
Score
Item no.: 391056
Drei rumänische Volkslieder 2
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308760
"Damit Euer Gnaden"
for: Männerchor (TTTBBB), Solo (T) und 3 Sprecher
Chorstimme Bass I / II / III
Item no.: 791115
7. Retour de Melancolie "En verrai ge jamais"
for: Women's choir (SSSAAA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 738978
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 728070
op. 16
for: gemischter Chor (SSATBB) a cappella oder mit Orgel oder Blechbläser
Set of parts (Wind instruments)
Item no.: 747105