Considered by Tchaikovsky as ‘one of greatest musicians’, Paul Pabst studied in Vienna and later with the great Franz Liszt. Pabst was appointed professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Pabst’s students included Nicolay Medtner and the  Sergei Liapunov. Pabst was especially recognized for his interpretation of Schumann and Liszt. Rachmaninov asked Paul Pabst to join him in the debut of his Fantasie Tableaux, Op. 5.