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

Having drums going all the way through a piece is an African concept. Classical music just used percussion for accents. In a loud reverberant church or concert hall too many drums would turn into a wash of sound. Many African drumming traditions came about for open air spaces and communication over distance.