While it may sound like a contradiction in terms, ‘classical’ style music is still being composed today, long after the death of famous artists like Mozart and Beethoven. While what we think of as classical music denoted a specific period in time, particularly in European history, the style and structure of the work (consisting of concertos and symphonies) is still alive and well.
Some of the best movie film scores can be considered principally similar to the classical style. For example, the big orchestral tracks in movie series like Star Wars or Pirate of The Caribbean (composed by John Williams and Hans Zimmer respectively) are very reminiscent of classical tracks that seem to tell a story in our minds without any words being necessary.
While the ‘Golden Era’ of classical music might be forever lost to history, it is certainly not dead as a genre of music. There are plenty of fantastic composers who are leading grand orchestras and symphonies with incredible poise.
Anyone interested in checking out these contemporary artists should. There is even an excellent TEDx Talk on ‘How to listen to contemporary classical music’ by Ksenia Anufrieva that is worth a watch.