He attended the Oberrealschule in his native town and received piano lessons from Hugo Schreiner.
He also studied with Hugo Riemann and Hermann Kretzschmar at the Leipzig University.
From 1908 onwards, together with Edgar Wollgandt (violin) and Julius Klengel, and from 1926 with Hans Münch-Holland (cello), he founded the Leipzig Trio.
From 1908 to 1914, he taught at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden.
His pupils included, among others, Ferhunde Erkin, Dieter Zechlin and Amadeus Webersinke.