Music Manuscripts, 1929 - 1982

Series — Multiple Containers

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Music Manuscripts series include manuscripts written by Kouguell's father Arkadie Kouguell, Leo Kraft, and other composers, some of who dedicated their works to Kouguell. The manuscripts include Alexander Kouguell's notes and compositions that he wrote himself.

Dates

1929 - 1982

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

Most of this collection is in English, with limited Performance and Personal and Correspondence papers in French, Armenian, Russian and Spanish. French is also present in a small number of music manuscripts.

Conditions Governing Access

Appointments to examine materials must be made in advance. Please email QC.archives@qc.cuny.edu for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Biographical / Historical

Alexander Kouguell collected and annotated a number of original music manuscripts by his father, Arkadie Kouguell. Born in Simfaropol, Russia, in 1896, Arkadie Kouguell began his career as a pianist at the age of nine. At age eleven, he began to study music at the Hochschule und Akademie fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria. At age sixteen, he began to study music at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, whose director was Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov.

Arkadie was the director of a music academy in the Crimea for a few years, before emigrating to Constantinople, Turkey in 1922. From 1923-1948, he lived in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1928, he was made Professeur Delegue and a member of the examining Jury of the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. He was also made a member of the Society of Authors and Composers of Paris and the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers of Paris.

In 1951, Arkadie and his family came to New York. Once in the United States, Kouguell began to write Jewish music, specifically Sabbath service liturgy, as well as more general music compositions. Among his general compositions are works for orchestra, chorus, choral music, chamber music, ballets and solo pieces for strings, voice, piano and woodwinds.

Arkadie Kouguell died in New York on November 20, 1985. Biographical information on Arkadie Kouguell taken from the YIVO archive, which also houses his papers: http://www.yivoarchives.org/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=33254