ChopinInDrag

Hi Everyone, Perhaps I'm missing something rather simple so bare with me here. You see, I'm a bit confused by the term "neo-classical". I just can't seem to figure out why it exists at all really. I mean I can't seem to see why people like mahler, tchaikovsky, and strauss are all considered late romantic, while Copeland, Shostakovich, Britten, and Bartok are called neo-classical. The later composers all seem to share much more in common with romanticism than Mozart. Now I understand perhaps calling Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms neo-classical, it certainly sounds "classical", but most composers of this "movement" don't seem to have any of the rhythmic and tonal "rigidity" of the classical style at all-- quite the opposite really. So anyway, I'm very curious what interesting insights any of you might have. Thanks!