The Three American Requiems were inspired by different aspects of American life.
American Requiem II is both a concert for violin and orchestra and a Requiem, featuring Dies Irae and Lacrimosa. This is a funeral mass for classical music in America. The work ends when a technician enters the stage and interrupts the performance. He asks the soloist: "John (or whatever the real name of the violinist is), who needs classical music here?" He grabs the violin away and turns off the stage lights, leaving the entire orchestra in darkness.
Most works of classical music composed in Western countries are financed by the government and affiliated structures. Most of them are charities and non-profit organizations - opera houses, symphony orchestras, ballet companies, tax-exempt corporations and other structures, completely dependent on the government financing or on the government-granted tax-exempt status.
It means that if a composer says something different from what his government says, his work will not be commissioned or performed. The situation leads to self-censorship and limitation of topics. Only sweet fluffy topics are allowed - patriotism (on no matter what basis), fake love stories, plastic flowers, or the jail time of Lindsay Lohan. Abstract compositions that mean and express nothing are also welcome. Other topics are not recommended if a Western composer pays a mortgage, medical bills and supports his family. Of course, composers are free to write whatever they want but ... for free.
This means that the US government will never commission works by Evgeni Kostitsyn. His music simply does not fit into the coffin built by the US government for classical music.
The situation is similar to the darkest days of the Stalin dictatorship in the USSR.
Public interest in classical music is lost, because today the number of 'government-approved' topics in classical music is very limited. New subjects - which would bring new means of expression - are ignored. It's all the same, but not as beautiful as Mozart. It leads to stagnation. This limitation prevents classical music from developing further.
