Is classical music dead as a creative activity?

[Mikebert]

(04-02-2017, 06:17 PM)Warren Dew Wrote: I think movie music and broadway music often qualifies as "modern classical".  Think Webber and Williams.

I agree.  Formal classical music fell into an academic track mid 20th century with becoming increasingly technical (e.g. Schoenberg).  Movie music was one of the few ways a classical composer could write stuff that people would hear and could come to love.

We talked a bit about it at fish fry last Friday (my wife plays in a community orchestra and we met a couple of orchestra members for dinner).  And Dave the timpanist remarked how after sixty years writing music no one wants to listen to (or play), modern composers are starting to write stuff that's listenable again.  I then mentioned Barber and how we was a 20th century guy who wrote a great piece I really like.  And Dave replied--Barber, here's a guy who when everyone else was writing atonal stuff, continued to write in a Romantic-sounding style, but with clearly modern elements.