Boris Koutzen

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Boris Koutzen (1901-1966) was born in Uman, Southern Russia. He began composing at the age of six and studied violin with his father. In 1918 his family moved to Moscow, where Boris entered the Moscow Conservatory to study violin with Leo Zetlin, and composition with Reinhold Glière. That same year, he won the national competition for the position of first violin in the State opera House Orchestra, and later joined the Moscow Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky. 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. From 1937 until 1945 he was a member of the NBC Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Mr. Koutzen was head of the violin department of the Philadelphia Conservatory from 1925-1962. In 1944 he joined the faculty of Vassar College, where he taught violin and conducted the Vassar orchestra until 1966. [http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.scdb.200033548/default.html]