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: Tenor recorder, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1309668
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1309656
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1309652
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1310433
for: Alto Saxophone, Trumpet & Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1270858
Los majos enamorados
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 302991
Großstädtisch Op. 438
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1288468
Op. 525
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1288433
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1290113
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1290112
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1290105
Klassik
for: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1286185
Klassik
for: Mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1285549
Klassik
for: Mixed choir, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285537
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1286853
Klassik
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283958
Klassik
for: Tuba, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283953
Klassik
for: 5 clarinets (quintet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275285
Klassik
for: 5 saxophones
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275284
Klassik
for: 5 trombones
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275282
Klassik
for: 4 saxophones
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275275
Klassik
for: Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275233
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275848
for: Soprano saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1275843
Klassik
for: 5 saxophones
Sheet music
Item no.: 1273772
Klassik
for: 4 clarinets
Sheet music
Item no.: 1273764
Klassik
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1273120
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272973
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272936
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272935
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272932
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272930
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272927
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1272926
Walzer
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1288790
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1288697
Overture
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1298496
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1298367
from El Amor Brujo
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1298358
Klassik
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1294417
Klassik
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1294415
for: Brass quintet
Sheet music
Item no.: 1291457
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1291449
for: 4 brass instruments
Sheet music
Item no.: 1291448
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Sheet music
Item no.: 1291404
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1291389
for: 5 saxophones
Sheet music
Item no.: 1291334
for: 5 trombones
Sheet music
Item no.: 1291332