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: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1053294
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1031648
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 1143425
for: Choir
Score
Item no.: 909514
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 907452
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Score
Item no.: 907390
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 904877
for: Narrator and Orchestra
Score
Item no.: 894574
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 901305
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 1149326
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1149254
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 891193
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 676620
for: Mixed choir (SATB), chamber ensemble
Score
Item no.: 328785
for: Chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 311468
for: für Chor SATB (Kinder-/Männerchor) und Instrumente
Score
Item no.: 331666
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 331647
for: Mixed choir, piano
Score
Item no.: 331467
for: für Sopran, Flöte, Klarinette (Bassklarinette), Trompete, Harfe und Violine (Viola)
Score
Item no.: 124429
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 172660
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411096
for: Mixed choir (SATB), string orchestra
Score
Item no.: 264975
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 1043415
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324187
for: Clarinet, piano
Score
Item no.: 132838
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 876068
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 1342767
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 124989
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 977443
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 564801
for: Voice, guitar
Book
Item no.: 324256
for: 4 horns (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 267057
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 775475
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 412894
for: Clarinet, Voice
Buch
Item no.: 279848
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 992875
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411447
for: Cello, piano
Score
Item no.: 266577
for: Piano
Score
Item no.: 302642
for: 2 oboes
Ensemble score
Item no.: 267239
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 322901
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 175213
for: Violin, cello
2 Performance scores
Item no.: 411787
for: Bassoon
Music score
Item no.: 267368
for: Salon orchestra
Piano part for conductor, Parts
Item no.: 331663
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 327200
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 268634
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