Koutzen, Boris, 1901-1966

Composed 1929.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1934. First performance New York, 12 March 1935, National Orchestra Association, Leon Barzin conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1927. First performance Philadelphia, 1 April 1927, Philadelphia Orchestra, the composer conducting.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1931. First performance New York, 19 February 1940, National Orchestra Association, Leon Barzin conductor. Received Julliard Publication Award 1944.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Based on American folksongs. Composed 1943. First performance Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, 5 April 1957, Pittsburgh Symphony, William Steinberg conductor.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1939.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Composed 1946. First performance Academy of Music, Philadelphia, 22 February 1952, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conductor, Nadia Koutzen soloist.--Cf. Fleisher Collection.

Boris Koutzen (b. Apr. 1,1901 in Uman, Russia; d. Dec. 10,1966 in Mount Kisco, N.Y.) was a violinist, composer, conductor and teacher. He played violin for the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. He taught at the Philadelphia Conservatory and at Vassar College.

Biographical Note

Boris Koutzen was born in Uman, Russia, to Leo and Minna (Mijeritzky) Koutzen on April 1, 1901. At the age of six, Koutzen began composing and, at the age of seven, he began studying the violin with his father. By eleven, Koutzen was making numerous appearances as a concert violinist. In 1918, his family moved to Moscow where Boris entered the Moscow Conservatory to continue his violin studies under Leo Zetlin, and to study composition with Reinhold Glière. That same year he won the national competition for the position of first violinist in the State Opera House Orchestra, and also joined the Moscow Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky. When Koutzen was twenty-one, he went to Germany to continue studying violin under Klingler at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin.

In the fall of 1923, Koutzen came to the United States and became a member of the first violin section of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. On June 3, 1924, he married Inez Merck, a pianist. The couple had two children, George, born in 1926, and Nadia, born in 1930. Both became outstanding musicians, George on the cello and Nadia on the violin. Boris Koutzen became an American citizen in 1929. From 1937 to 1945 he was a member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. He was also the head of the violin department of the Philadelphia Conservatory from 1925 to 1962. It was from this institution that Boris Koutzen received his Doctor of Music degree in 1940. In 1944, he was awarded the following honors: the publication award of the Juilliard Foundation for his symphonic poem, Valley Forge ; an award from the Society for the Publication of American Music for his Second String Quartet ; and first prize in the American Composers Alliance-Broadcast Music Incorporation (ACA-BMI) competition for his Music for Saxophone, Bassoon, and Cello . Koutzen joined the faculty of Vassar College in 1944, where he taught violin and conducted the Vassar Orchestra. He retired the summer before his death from a heart attack on December 10, 1966.

Nadia Koutzen became a well-established solo violinist. During her career she performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Town Hall in New York City. She appeared on Broadway for three weeks in 1977, playing in the pit orchestra for Rudolf Nureyev at the Uris Theatre. Boris Koutzen recorded his thoughts on the blossoming talent of his young daughter in his journals. On November 15, 1951 he wrote about her debut recital at the Town Hall: “her playing throughout the program had wonderful vitality” and “she proved to be an absolutely first class artist.” Over the years, Nadia and the rest of the Koutzen family would make numerous concert appearances together, sometimes performing works composed by Boris.