Well, yes, and also I think that should Mozart be born in our day and show the same level of mastery over music, he probably wouldn't become as famous and legendary he is now, even in the future. And I'm sad to see a lot of musical schools and conservatories dedicate their education mostly to classical composers, ignoring the modern musicians who's at least not less talented than Mozart or Beethoven. We have a whole industry of classical musicians who dedicate their whole careers to play music written over 200 years ago. Hell, they even resist improving the instruments. Take violin for example, it has many functional flaws, like the whole nut and peg construction, and the bridge - those parts can be improved for more reliability and ease of handling, without hurting the sound in any way. But no, then it wouldn't be the same classical violin used 200 years ago, so it's a no-no. They still use chalk to increase the peg friction, when there are very reliable gear mechanisms used in guitars. Phew, steam blown, thanks for listening, so where were we?
I think this happens in a majority of disciplines - architecture, painting, film, fashion*, etc. You can't forge a new path without knowing where the path started. *In the Devil wears Prada, there was a great little scene where Streep "schools" an irreverent Hathaway on why Cerulean blue is not merely "any old blue", picked on a whim. It was worn by the Pharoahs. etc. The principles of musical construction were laid down in the centuries past. That's where to go to study them. You can always learn about modern musical theory, but history and foundations is pretty much only going to be learned in school. Those who learn only modern techniques are doomed to be followers and derivativists.
You are quite wrong about classical music. It's true it goes back to the c.15th, which is more or less when harmony developed (I have sung Josquin desPrez's marvellous Ave Maria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_Maria_..._Virgo_serena ), but it goes right up to the present day. In the last year our choral society has sung 2 world premieres of pieces, specially written for us to perform. And there is a wealth of c.20th classical music to perform, too, Benjamin Britten being one of my favourites. I am no expert on the instruments, but Baroque and Renaissance era music sounds different on instruments made according to the style of the period and I think it suits the music very well. (Also of course the pitch is different). So I think it's horses for courses. We have a European musical tradition that goes back about a thousand years (if you include Gregorian chant, which I have learned to sing from the neume notation the monks use to this day), so it is hardly surprising that a lot of what you hear performed does not come from our own era. In fact, when I learnt, about 10 years ago, to sing Renaissance polyphony, while I was living in The Hague, I was amazed at how intricate, sophisticated - and difficult - it is. There is a lot of history to it all and great riches in the earlier epochs, as well asa in the present day. It's not all about Mozart and Beethoven by any means. (But we're off-piste now. Better allow the thread to revert to its proper track, I suppose. We could start a thread under art and culture if you want to pursue this further...)
