Why does classical music (at least from the past) lack drums?

Question

I wonder why the great classical composers from history like Mozart, Beethoven, etc. didn’t make more use of drums or percussion in general?

I mean, they did write quite a lot of bombastic pieces and did all they could to make the parts that needed it to hit hard. So why did’nt they use more than one or two bangs on a kettle drum, giving the one who played them the most boring job in the orchestra?

Also I know that a drum-kit is a rather modern invention, but couldn’t they have used different guys playing different kinds of percussion?

Also maybe I’m completely mistaken and this turns out to be a list of classical music with some blasting in it..

Edit: I’m sencerely apologising to every classical percussionist, reading the answers I clearly underestimated your role

In: 4587

Answer 1

If you want to hear Classical music with amazing percussion, try Indian Classical Music. Its composition and structure is wildly different from Western Classical so it will not feel the same. But the rhythm is an integral part, and all in complicated yet structured patterns.

Here is a legendary performance: https://youtu.be/lWWra6QDQ-8

Raag Bihag, gat in drut teental (composition in fast 16 beat cycle) by Ustads Vilayat Khan on the sitar and Sukhwinder Singh on the tabla.