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: Voice, piano
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Item no.: 106031
for: Mixed Ensemble
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Item no.: 139052
for: Symphonic orchestra
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Item no.: 134381
for: Viola, string orchestra
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Item no.: 455513
for: Organ
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for: Symphonic orchestra
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Item no.: 419694
for: FL OB KLAR BASS-KLAR HRN FAG TRP PERC VL VA VC KB
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for: Organ or Harmonium
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for: Piano 4 hands
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Item no.: 412837
for: Clarinet [2 Clarinets] and Piano
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for: Duet
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Item no.: 412713
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
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for: String orchestra
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Item no.: 367913
for: String orchestra
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for: Percussion instruments
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Item no.: 412187
for: Choir
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for: Violin, piano
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for: Piano 4 hands
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for: Piano 4 hands
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Item no.: 411746
for: Violin, piano
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for: String orchestra
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for: SAX ENSEMBLE SCHLAGZ
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for: Piano, Violin and Cello
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for: Symphonic orchestra
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for: Concert band
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Item no.: 888366
for: Choir
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for: Choir a Cappella
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for: Choir
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for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
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for: Chamber ensemble
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for: Chamber ensemble
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Item no.: 835831
for: Voice, piano
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for: Voice, piano
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for: Piano 4 hands
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for: Voice, piano
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for: Voice, piano
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for: Marching band
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Item no.: 842344
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
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Item no.: 832637
for: Cello
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Item no.: 821948
for: Guitar
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Item no.: 833462
for: Vocal, Clarinet, Violin and 2 Pianos
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Item no.: 833173
for: Chamber orchestra
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Item no.: 833079
for: Mixed ensemble
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Item no.: 832953
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