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: Piano
Item no.: 282826
for: Piano
Item no.: 282809
for: Piano
Item no.: 138247
for: Voice (medium), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 306759
for: Piano
Item no.: 166242
"Symphony of a Thousand"
Based on the Critical Complete Edition, published by International Gustav Mahler Society, Vienna
for: Solists, boys’ choir, mixed choir, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 577586
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 154681
for: FL (ABFL) VC GIT
Item no.: 136194
for: Salon orchestra
Piano part for conductor, Parts
Item no.: 309861
for: Symphonic orchestra
Item no.: 309034
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 579672
for: Mixed choir (SAT), string orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 121726
for: Cello solo, string orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 121461
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 218758
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 371176
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1149280
nach dem Requiem für Chor STB, Viola und Orgel
for: Mixed choir (SAM), violin [viola], organ [harmonium]
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1355790
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Music score
Item no.: 388790
for: 2 violins, cello
Set of parts
Item no.: 246518
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 228723
for: Organ
Single edition
Item no.: 1148157
Repertoire Explorer
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 144204
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1106233
for: Male choir, organ
Score
Item no.: 1024586
for: Trumpet, trombone, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1023282
for: 2 soloists (SB), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1160636
for: Violin solo, 2 violins, viola, cello
Score
Item no.: 1016944
for: horn, chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1022162
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 946749
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 945811
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 948746
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 947839
for: Descant recorder
Item no.: 120982
for: für gemischten Chor (SSAATTBB) und Orchester
Score
Item no.: 1134960
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Score
Item no.: 934000
for: Youth concert band
Score
Item no.: 943014
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 942670
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 939239
for: Jazz ensemble
Score
Item no.: 938737
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 938726
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 938185
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 941396
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 939995
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 945343
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 945167
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 945039
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 1053294
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