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: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 666669
for: Voice (baritone), organ
Score
Item no.: 1120967
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 467654
for: Organ
Item no.: 276679
Original version
for: Clarinet (B-flat), violin, viola, cello, piano left hand
Score, Single parts
Item no.: 562762
Urtext edition
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 262042
Edition Schultheiss
for: 2 GES ORG (KLAV)
Score
Item no.: 212286
Das Wiegenlied von Slavonic
Ein Konzertstück für Violine und Klavier
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 209587
A Graded Collection of Easy Pieces
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 214996
Version for four hands
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 217160
für Flöte (Klavierbegleitung als PDF zum Ausdrucken)
for: Flute
Music score, CD
Item no.: 560090
for: hohe Singstimme und Gitarre
Item no.: 354436
Revidierte Neuausgabe 2013
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 587111
Neue Studienpartituren-Reihe
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Study score
Item no.: 581213
Morceau pour piano
Musicalady – Komponistinnen des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts 17
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 583499
for: 4 flutes (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 487815
Rückblicke und Ausblicke
for: Piano
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 487006
for: Violin
Item no.: 200085
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 195930
for: Oboe Klarinette in A, Fagott, Violine, Viola, Violoncello
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 429797
for: Voice (high), cor anglais [oboe], cello, harp
Set of parts
Item no.: 585019
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 478235
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 463436
5 Episodes
(avec 3 voix d'enfants)
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 447202
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 371679
C. - Fêtes galantes
for: Voice, piano
Score
Item no.: 370747
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 768674
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 341454
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 433899
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 470533
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction (Hardcover)
Item no.: 388487
5 pezzi facili
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 388421
Am kühlenden Morgen
for: Male choir
Choir score
Item no.: 189621
op. 62/1
for: Violin, organ
Item no.: 287808
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 285009
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 284816
for: 4 cellos
Set of parts
Item no.: 285827
(Urtext)
Piano reduction
Item no.: 285816
Scherzo
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 283790
D Abendkonzert 3: 2 Duette
for: Violine und Klarinette
Ensemble score
Item no.: 287692
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 186623
Oper in vier Aufzügen
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
4 Scores
Item no.: 178020
Ludus tonalis. Faksimile-Ausgabe eines von Paul Hindemith kolorierten Exemplares aus dem Jahre 1950 (Facsimile)
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 157289
for: Bläserchor mit Orgel und Pauken
Ensemble score
Item no.: 106807
Übungs- und Spielstücke
for: Bassoon
Item no.: 420197
for: GCH ORG TRP PK
Score
Item no.: 104943
for: Cello, piano
Item no.: 163882
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 466692