Alexander Kouguell Papers

Alexander Kouguell was a Russian-American cellist born in in Simferopol, Crimea on March 27, 1920. At the time Crimea was experiencing the Russian Civil War of 1918–20, and was then reorganized as the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921. Alexander was the first child of Arkadie and Maria Kouguell (née Malinskaya), and was followed by his siblings Rosemarie and Maurice. Both his parents were graduates of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and pianists, with his father also being a conductor and composer. Kouguell’s family immigrated when he was 2 years old to Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) then Beirut, and briefly Paris throughout his childhood and early adulthood, but he spent the majority of his time in Beirut. He graduated from The Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris in 1939 with a secondary education bachelor's in philosophy and a certificate in cello performance, The American University in Beirut in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in English and a master’s degree in French, and from Columbia University with a doctoral degree in comparative literature in 1948. He took a position at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland in 1948 and left after one year due to the uncertainty of a second season.

In September of 1949, Kouguell became a professor at Queens College at Leo Kraft’s recommendation. He taught at Queens College until his retirement in 1990, but continued to teach part-time until 2017 as a professor emeritus for a career spanning over 68 years. He was an internationally renowned cellist, having played in France, Brazil, Argentina, Lebanon, Russia, and Armenia among other countries. Primarily a chamber musician, Kouguell played with the New York Chamber Soloists, the Silvermine Quartet, and was the principal cellist at the Musica Aeterna Orchestra and Clarion Concerts Orchestra for 28 years. In addition to this, he played smaller concerts throughout the New York area, including many for the Free Synagogue of Flushing.

At age 27, Alexander Kouguell married Florence Kouguell (nee Lyman) from Washington, D.C. and had two sons, Arthur Kouguell and Ray Kouguell. At Queens College, he and his wife established the Alexander and Florence Kouguell Cello Award at Queens College, which provides scholarship funding to undergraduate cellists who have demonstrated excellence in solo performance, orchestral playing or chamber music. Alexander Kouguell passed away in October 2022 at age 102 at his home in Flushing, NY.