In his career the German-born American composer Stefan Wolpe (1902-1972) crossed paths with most of the Modernist movements. His greatness lay in the ability to absorb divergent styles and ideas and to produce out of them music of striking and compelling originality.

Stefan Wolpe was born in Berlin on August 25, 1902, the third of four children to David and Hermine Wolpe. His father had established a successful manufacturing business after emigrating from Moscow, and his mother, who was Viennese, played the piano a little. Wolpe began to develop his musical gifts early, composing by the age of 14. At the same age he began formal studies at the Klindworth-Schwarwenka Conservatory but was expelled for a composition he had written.

In 1918, the year of the November Revolution, Wolpe left home to join the Wandervögeln, the name given to roving bands of young people in search of lost ideals. He...