Hubert Käppel is not only a rare exception among the leading guitarists of today, but his interpretations, and virtuoso technique has set the standard for a whole guitar generation. On the occasion of his North American debut in Ottawa and Toronto the Ottawa Citizen wrote : “It would be difficult to imagine a guitar player more sensitive, more musically aware than Hubert Käppel.”

Born in Cologne, Germany in 1951 he studied guitar with Hartmut Dentler, Tadashi Sasaki, Konrad Ragossnig and Oscar Ghiglia in Cologne and Basel. Since his exciting transcription and recording of Bach’s 6th Partita for keyboard (“Some of the best real Bach ever heard on the guitar”, Colin Cooper, Classical Guitar), he has been touring as a soloist, with orchestra or chamber music ensemble, throughout Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia.

Käppel has given concerts and master classes in many international music and guitar festivals and has often sat as a jury member in the major guitar competitions. He has made numerous recordings and live appearances for many national and international Radio and TV networks. Several CDs have been released by Zweitausendeins, GSP San Franciso, FSM Exaudio, KSGEXAUDIO and MARA Records.

Being one of the most important guitar teachers of our time Mr. Käppel has produced more than 50 first prize winning guitarists at the “Hochschule für Musik Köln”. From 1994 to 1997 he was also guest professor at the “Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt” in Weimar. Besides his university activities he is in great demand for masterclasses at conservatories, universities and music festivals worldwide.

In 2004 he was honored by the committee of the Koblenz International Guitar Competition which then renamed the competition, “Koblenz International Guitar Competition Hubert Käppel”. Hubert Käppel is a member of the “Fénix International Guitar Quartet” (Sotiris Malasiotis, Luciano Marziali, Pirai Vaca), founded by himself in 2001, and of the “Delos Trio” (Gudrum Höbold, violin and Dietmar Berger, violoncello).

In 2001 he founded with Georg Schmitz, composer and director of the “Koblenz International Guitar Festival”, the “Koblenz International Guitaracademy”, an institution specified on guitar studies.

For 10 years he was artistic director of the “International Guitar Competition and Seminar” in Frechen/Cologne which is continued since 2001 by the “International Guitar Festival Gevelsberg”, Germany. In 1996 his new guitar method “Introducing the Guitar” was published, followed by 3 collections of studies all produced by AMA, Germany.