[julespitt]

It's weird and false to imply that classical composition no longer exists. Classical was one of the first fields of art to retreat from mid-century modernist experimentation and get back to basics. Minimalism reintroduced such essential elements as rhythm and melody as early as the 1960s. While there's still a large avant-garde contingent, most successful living composers walk a very interesting line between the new, complex and accessible.

It's not a popular music story at all - pop/folk music has always been doing it's own thing.

[crazygringo]

Oh it definitely exists -- heck, I sang in a New York premiere of a Jennifer Higdon piece this spring. But it's not popular. It's incredibly niche. There's isn't nearly enough general interest in it for there to be another Beethoven equivalent today, as a figure in society in general.

[julespitt]

Got it, your language was a tad to declaritive.

It's certainly niche, and painfully so. I think there is some potential for growth, given the absurdity of my aging friends forcing themselves to continue to engage with music written predominantly for teenagers and college students.