Nobody seems to talk about classical music nowadays. Has everyone else lost interest in it?
The BBC Proms sell out every year with tickets fetching good money. Lots of people like/listen to Classical music, (not just classical instrument players) but I think there's a certain social stigma attached to it these days. It's still studied at length in music classes in Britain.
Moonlight Sonata is, in fact, my favourite piece of music in the world.
but I can appreciate it if artists take bits and use it in their songs
A lot of shred/metal guitar players are influenced by classical melodies and construction: Matt Bellamy (Muse- Plug in Baby is directly ripped from a Baroque piece), Paul Gilbert (Racer X/Mr Big), Yngwie Malmsteen, Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom) and Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) are all classical-influenced players.
Oh, and there's the countless artists that have used
Pachelbel's Canon in D Major as a chord structure. (I wrote that, by the way)
Classical is great, it's that we forget how much of it is still in our 'modern' music.