The classical period in music was so important that the entire serious acoustic music world after the middle ages has come to be known as classical music.
Its compositions reflected the tremendous gains in understanding of the world being made in science, and the equally tremendous growth in useful technology and machines. The music grew bigger, and louder (not always, but sometimes), and the subjects more diverse. The instruments were refined and improved, partly due to improved technology and partly due to the demanding scores being created for them.
Major classical era composers will be very well known even to the casual listener: