Editing Aaron Copland (section)

== Legacy ==
{{For LMST|Aaron|Copland}}
[[File:Bust of Aaron Copland.jpg|thumb|upright|Bust of Copland, Tanglewood]]
Copland wrote a total of about 100 works which covered a diverse range of genres. Many of these compositions, especially orchestral pieces, have remained part of the standard American repertoire.{{sfn|Pollack|1999|p=555}} According to Pollack, Copland "had perhaps the most distinctive and identifiable musical voice produced by this country so far, an individuality ... that helped define for many what American concert music sounds like at its most characteristic and that exerted enormous influence on multitudes of contemporaries and successors."{{sfn|Pollack|1999|p=555}} His synthesis of influences and inclinations helped create the "Americanism" of his music.{{sfn|Smith|1953|pp=292–94}} The composer himself pointed out, in summarizing the American character of his music, "the optimistic tone", "his love of rather large canvases", "a certain directness in expression of sentiment", and "a certain songfulness".{{sfn|Pollack|1999|p=530}}

While "Copland's musical rhetoric has become iconic" and "has functioned as a mirror of America," conductor [[Leon Botstein]] suggests that the composer "helped define the modern consciousness of America's ideals, character and sense of place. The notion that his music played not a subsidiary but a central role in the shaping of the national consciousness makes Copland uniquely interesting, for the historian as well as the musician."{{sfn|Oja|Tick|2005|p=442}} Composer [[Ned Rorem]] states, "Aaron stressed simplicity: Remove, remove, remove what isn't needed.... Aaron brought leanness to America, which set the tone for our musical language throughout [World War II]. Thanks to Aaron, American music came into its own."{{sfn|Copland|Perlis|1984|p=124}}