Born in Waidhofen an der Ybbs in Austria in 1950, Rainer Küchl started studying violin at age of 11 and entered the Wiener Musikakademie (currently the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien) in 1964. He has been active as soloist since 1967 performing with numerous orchestras, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, and Dresden Staatskappelle, and also gave recitals and made recordings. In 1971, he was appointed Concertmaster of the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper and Wiener Philharmoniker. In the same year, he formed the Küchl Quartet along with other members of the Wiener Philharmoniker. In 1982, he became a professor at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. He was awarded numerous prizes for his contributions to musical arts through his varied activities, including the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Arts in 1988, and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon of the Japanese Government in 2010. In 2001 he was awarded official honorary status with the Wiener Staatsoper, which was the first ever awarded to a concertmaster of the Wiener Philharmoniker in the history of the orchestra. After serving for 45 years he retired from the position of Concertmaster of the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper and Wiener Philharmoniker on August 31 in 2016. April in 2017, he became guest concertmaster of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo. Currently, he is active teaching at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien as violin professor, and performing as a soloist and as a member/leader of the Küchl Quartet and Wiener Ring Ensemble. He also assumes a jury member of competitions.
This is his eleventh appearance at PMF since 1993.