Stefan Wolpe (August 25, 1902 - April 4, 1972) was a German-born composer. Forced to flee Nazi Germany, he finally settled in New York City in 1938.
His works employ a variety of approaches, including twelve tone technique, Arabic scales and other methods of tonal organisation he encountered on his travles in the middle east. His work was modernist, but avoided the punctualism of composers such as Pierre Boulez (in his works from 1951–53), instead employing more conventionally expressive gestures. His students included Morton Feldman, Ralph Shapey, David Tudor, and Charles Wuorinen.
Wolpe developed Parkinson's disease in 1964 and died in New York City in 1972. Elliott Carter commemorated Wolpe: "Comet-like radiance, conviction, fervent intensity, penetrating thought on many levels of seriousness and humor, combined with breathtaking adventurousness and originality, marked the inner and outer life of Stefan Wolpe, as they do his compositions."