I guess nobody said the classical symphony has to be a permanent style, or even the concert. Despite that (notice that I am not an expert at all), Philip Glass

I guess nobody said the classical symphony has to be a permanent style, or even the concert. Despite that (notice that I am not an expert at all), Philip Glass has a number of what he calls symphonies. Not that I like them much but there they are. Have you listened to John Taverner? They used some of his compositions (quite appropriately, to my taste) in "Children of men". On the other hand, writing for the screen does not need to be "soft" or "less important". The same Philip glass has some (rather good, to my taste) impressive things in the Qatsi trilogy. Religious composers are also rather good. Have you listened to Arvo Part? Or John Rutter's Requiem? Or James Macmillan? There is good stuff there. At the same time, notice that Philip Glass may be a minimalist but his incidental music for "The Secret Agent" or the first piece of "Naqoyqatsi" are impressive works for strings. Well, just to give you some light.