Christoph Caskel, born on January 12, 1932 in Greifswald, Germany, was a percussionist who began learning his craft at age five. He studied formally with Wenzel Pricha at the State College of Music in Cologne from 1949 to 1953. Caskel gained international recognition in the 1960s for performing contemporary chamber music and solo works, including premieres by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Helmut Lachenmann, and Mauricio Kagel. He performed with the Stockhausen Ensemble from 1964 onwards and recorded Béla Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion twice. Caskel was also an educator, having taught at the Rhineland Music School and at the Cologne University of Music. He received the Advancement Award of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for Music in 1963. Caskel passed away on February 19, 2023, at the age of 91.
