Wolpe, Stefan

WOLPE, STEFAN (1902–1972), composer. Born in Berlin, Wolpe studied at the Berlin Academy of Music under Paul Juon and Franz Schreker. In 1933 he settled in Jerusalem, where he taught at the Palestine Conservatory of Music until 1938 and greatly influenced the first generation of locally educated composers. He subsequently settled in the United States and from 1951 taught at various New York institutions. His music belongs to the Schoenberg and Webern schools and shows strong Jewish influence. Among his compositions are a ballet, The Man from Midian (1940); an oratorio, Israel and his Land; a cantata, Jigdal; and chamber and choral works.