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: Soprano Solo, SATB, Orchestra
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1005212
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 892746
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 832692
for: Viola, piano
Book
Item no.: 1007866
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1007642
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Book
Item no.: 1006680
for: Violin, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 316077
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 315850
for: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Strings and Double Bass
Score, Parts
Item no.: 315709
for: Alto Saxophone and Saxophone Quartet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 217786
for: Alt, Violine und Violoncello
Score
Item no.: 288383
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 309077
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308796
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308614
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308571
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308566
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 308499
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 307603
for: 10 TRP 8 POS 2 TUBA SCHLAGZ
Score
Item no.: 306511
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 984990
for: Cello, piano
Score
Item no.: 858746
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324655
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324641
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324617
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324601
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324597
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324581
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 324123
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 324034
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324509
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 324472
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 324284
for: Chamber ensemble
Buch
Item no.: 836716
for: Chamber ensemble
Buch
Item no.: 836711
for: String orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 839774
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 839825
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 838724
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 838009
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 837713
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 837561
for: Contrabass and Orchestra
Buch
Item no.: 1177973
for: Violin, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 325081
for: Mixed choir (SATB), wind quintet
Piano reduction
Item no.: 837870
Choir score
Item no.: 839089
Choir score
Item no.: 838461
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