Photo: [Josef Tal] · CC BY-SA 4.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Stefan Wolpe
Person · male · United States · Berlin · born 1902 · died 1972 · recording since 1992
German composer (1902–1972)
streamingticketsdatabasedatabase
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as 斯特凡·沃尔普
Timeline
10 events▣ Album 6◦ Birth 1✦ Award 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1900s
1940s
1970s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Remembering the Dancemaster
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
· Album
Album: Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Percussion & Piano / Trio for Flute, Cello & Piano / Sonata for Violin & Piano
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
Biography
English biography726 words · 4 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1370261771
Biography
Stefan Wolpe (25 August 1902 – 4 April 1972) was a German-born American composer. He was associated with interdisciplinary modernism, with affiliations ranging from the Bauhaus, Berlin agitprop theater and the kibbutz movement to the Eighth Street Artists' Club, Black Mountain College, and the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music. He lived and worked in Berlin (1902–1933) until the Nazi seizure of power forced him to move first to Vienna (1933–34) and Jerusalem (1934–38) before settling in New York City (1938–72). In works such as Battle Piece (1942/1947) and "In a State of Flight" in Enactments for Three Pianos (1953), he responded self-consciously to the circumstances of his uprooted life, a theme he also explored extensively in voluminous diaries, correspondence, and lectures. His densely eclectic music absorbed ideas and idioms from diverse artistic milieus, including post-tonality, bebop, and Arab classical musics.
Life
Wolpe was born in Berlin to Jewish parents. He attended the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory from the age of fourteen, and for one semester the State Academic College of Music in Berlin (currently: Berlin University of the Arts). He studied composition under Franz Schreker and was also a pupil of Ferruccio Busoni. He also studied at the Bauhaus circa 1923, and met some of the dadaists, setting Kurt Schwitters's poem An Anna Blume to music.
In 1928, Wolpe's first opera, Zeus und Elida, premiered in Berlin. This soon was followed by two more operas in 1929, Schöne Geschichten and Anna Blume. In 1927, he married the artist Ola Okuniewska from Czechoslovakia and their daughter, Katharina Wolpe, was born in 1931, but the couple had separated. His wife escaped to London in 1938, but his daughter was a de facto orphan in Berne during the war.
The music Wolpe was writing between 1929 and 1933 was dissonant, using Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique. However, possibly influenced by Paul Hindemith's concept of Gebrauchsmusik (music that serves a social function), and as an avid socialist, he wrote a number of pieces for workers' unions and communist theatre groups. For these, he made his style more accessible, incorporating elements of jazz and popular music.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany, Wolpe, a Jew and a communist, fled the country, first to his sister in Czechoslovakia, and then to Zurich. After a brief visit to the Soviet Union, Wolpe continued for a short stay in Vienna in 1933, where he met and studied with Anton Webern. With his partner, Irma Schoenberg, he then moved to Romania and shortly afterwards to Palestine, where he wrote simple songs for the kibbutzim, and sought to create an amalgam of Western, Mizrahi music and Arab influences. The music he was writing for concert performance, however, remained complex and atonal. Partly because of this, his teaching contract with the Palestine Conservatoire was not renewed for the 1938–39 school year.
In 1938, Wolpe moved to New York City. In 1945 he became an American citizen and started teaching at the Brooklyn School of Music. He briefly met his daughter in London in 1946. There, during the fifties, he associated with the abstract expressionist painters. He was introduced to them by his third wife, the poet Hilda Morley. From 1952 to 1956 he was director of music at Black Mountain College. Some of his most important compositions were written here, including “Symphony for Twenty Four Instruments” and “Enactments for Three Pianos”.
In 1956, he was appointed to the faculty at the C.W. Post College of Long Island University in Brookville, New York. He also lectured at the summer schools in Darmstadt in Germany. His pupils included Jack Behrens, Herbert Brün, Morton Feldman, David Tudor, Matthew Greenbaum, John Carisi, M. William Karlins, Stan Applebaum, Gil Evans, George Russell, Robert D. Levin, Boyd McDonald, Ralph Shapey, Ursula Mamlok, Netty Simons, and Beatrice Witkin.
His works from this time sometimes used the twelve-tone technique, were sometimes diatonic, were sometimes based on the Arabic scales (such as maqam saba) he had heard in Palestine and sometimes employed some other method of tonal organisation.
In 1971, Wolpe completed his last composition, "Piece for Trumpet and Seven Instruments" for the trumpeter Ronald Anderson. Wolpe developed Parkinson's disease in 1964, and died in New York City in 1972.
Music
Elliott Carter said of Wolpe's music that, "he does everything wrong and it comes out right."
Listening
Art of the States: Stefan Wolpe three works by the composer
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 15 | 72.5th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -20 | 8.1th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (7 release groups · 7 studio albums)
Albums · 7
1992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 55:24
1Early Piece7:012Passacaglia15:453Zemach Suite: Song1:414Zemach Suite: Piece of Embittered Music1:145Zemach Suite: Fugue à 3 no. 11:166Zemach Suite: Fugue à 3 no. 21:427Zemach Suite: Jubilation1:108Zemach Suite: Complaint4:109Zemach Suite: Con fuoco1:5010Studies, Part I4:2311Two Studies for Piano, Part II5:0212Form for Piano4:1513Form IV5:551995 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:07:50
1Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Pecussion & Piano: Early Morning Music4:132Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Pecussion & Piano: ♩ = ca. 637:483Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Pecussion & Piano: Intense and Spirited6:274Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Pecussion & Piano: ♪ = 925:415Sonata for Violin & Piano: Un poco allegro6:216Sonata for Violin & Piano: Andante appassionato7:567Sonata for Violin & Piano: Lento; Scherzo3:288Sonata for Violin & Piano: Allegro deciso9:169Trio in Two Parts for Flute, Cello & Piano: ♩ = ca. 13211:0810Trio in Two Parts for Flute, Cello & Piano: ♩ = ca. 805:32Symphony no. 1 / Yigdal Cantata / Chamber Pieces I & II
1997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 58:25
1Symphony no. 1: 1st movement4:312Symphony no. 1: 2nd movement7:413Symphony no. 1: 3rd movement9:504Yigdal Cantata: Part 1. Allegro3:305Yigdal Cantata: Part 2. Moderato5:536Yigdal Cantata: Part 3. Allegro7:147Yigdal Cantata: Part 41:208Yigdal Cantata: Part 50:529Yigdal Cantata: Part 63:0910Yigdal Cantata: Part 73:3011Chamber Piece I for 14 players7:4412Chamber Piece II for 14 players3:111997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 53:34
1Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Piano and Percussion: I. Early Morning Music3:572Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Piano and Percussion: II. (Calm) - Poco Più Mosso - Memo Mosso (Without Expression) - Più Mosso8:183Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Piano and Percussion: III. Intense And Spirited (Con Moto - Meno Mosso)7:234Quartet for Oboe, Cello, Piano and Percussion: IV. (Taut, To Oneself) - Like Chanting Souls - Presto5:115Cantata for Voice, Voices and Instruments: New World - Smells That Intoxicate - I Know A Man - I Had Wanted A Quiet Testament11:326String quartet: I7:427String quartet: III9:31Zeus und Elida / Schöne Geschichten
2000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 27 tracks · 57:46
1Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Charleston1:332Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Überleitung0:283Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Tango4:274Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Boston2:345Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Rezitativ I0:156Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Überleitung0:307Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Foxtrott (Jazz-Duett)2:588Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Rezitativ II2:019Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Coda0:3910Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Konzert mit Variationen3:0811Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Überleitung0:3712Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Blues (Solo und Duett mit Chor)4:2213Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Fortsetzung des Konzertes1:0114Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Rezitativ III0:3315Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Csárdás0:5016Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Stretta0:2417Zeus und Elida, op. 5a: Coda (Potpourri)0:2518Schöne Geschichten, op. 5b: Wissenschaft0:2519Schöne Geschichten, op. 5b: Religion oder die Geschichte von der Begegnung mit dem lieben Gott1:3320Schöne Geschichten, op. 5b: Recht oder die Geschichte vom Herrn Tannenbaum5:2321Schöne Geschichten, op. 5b: Bildung oder die Geschichte von der Balzac-Ausgabe2:0322Schöne Geschichten, op. 5b: Liebe oder die Geschichte vom Papier13:2523Schöne Geschichten, op. 5b: Philosophie (Gleichnis vom Leben)0:3624Schöne Geschichten, op. 5b: Patriotismus0:3325Blues2:0626Stimmen aus dem Massengrab3:0327Marsch1:542002 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 21 tracks · 1:04:28
1Sonata no. 1 "Stehende Musik": I. Sehr Schnell3:182Sonata no. 1 "Stehende Musik": II. Fast langsam9:203Sonata no. 1 "Stehende Musik": III. Schnell1:124Adagio: Gesang, weil ich etwas Teures verlassen muss2:515Tango3:306The Good Spirit of a Right Cause3:017Encouragements for Piano. First Piece. Battle Piece: I. Quasi presto3:318Encouragements for Piano. First Piece. Battle Piece: II. Molto sostenuto4:499Encouragements for Piano. First Piece. Battle Piece: III. Con moto ma non troppo2:1110Encouragements for Piano. First Piece. Battle Piece: IV. Vivo5:4911Encouragements for Piano. First Piece. Battle Piece: V. Moderato1:1812Encouragements for Piano. First Piece. Battle Piece: VI. Con brio2:2813Encouragements for Piano. First Piece. Battle Piece: VII. Allegro ma non troppo4:2714Waltz for Merle5:0615Zemach Suite: I. Song1:1416Zemach Suite: II. Piece of Embittered Music1:1417Zemach Suite: III. Fuge a 3 no. 11:0718Zemach Suite: IV. Fuge a 3 no. 21:0319Zemach Suite: V. Jubilation1:0920Zemach Suite: VI. Complaint3:1421Zemach Suite: VII. Dance in form of a Chaconne2:36— · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 56:15
1String Quartet: I. ♩ = 928:102String Quartet: II. ♩ = 1449:553Second Piece for Violin Alone (1966)2:584Trio in Two Parts for Flute, Cello and Piano: I. ♩ = ca. 13211:085Trio in Two Parts for Flute, Cello and Piano: II. ♩ = ca. 806Piece for Oboe, Cello, Percussion and Piano: I. Early Morning Music4:167Piece for Oboe, Cello, Percussion and Piano: II. Calm7:478Piece for Oboe, Cello, Percussion and Piano: III. Intense and Spirited6:289Piece for Oboe, Cello, Percussion and Piano: IV. Taut: to Oneself5:33
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Stefan Wolpe head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 15 | 72.5th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 2 | 92.6th |
| Timeline events | 10 | 86.7th |
| Recording span (years) | -20 | 8.1th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Arts and Letters Award in Music | won | |
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stefan_Wolpe.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6bef0129-4c9a-499c-80fb-9c6b06f97b38discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/6bef0129-4c9a-499c-80fb-9c6b06f97b38core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213905genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q213905seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Wolpebiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Wolpe
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: [Josef Tal] · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q213905 · MusicBrainz: 6bef0129-4c9a-499c-80fb-9c6b06f97b38
Similar artists
Browse every Tier 3 artist →Ranked from this record's own data: shared genre tags (rarer tags weigh more), era, home country and comparable fame. Every card lists the signals that placed it — no editorial picks.
Dominick Argento
United States · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1991, 1 year apart · from United States
16 wikis
Amy Beach
United States · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1995, 3 years apart · from United States
30 wikis
François Bazin
France · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1993, 1 year apart
14 wikis
Georges Aperghis
Greece · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1992, same year
14 wikis
Samuel Adler
Germany · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1990, 2 years apart
16 wikis
Francisco António de Almeida
Kingdom of Portugal · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1992, same year
13 wikis
Kalevi Aho
Finland · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1989, 3 years apart
18 wikis
Necil Kazım Akses
Turkey · Person
opera
1 shared genre tag · debut 1992, same year
19 wikis