Born Ernst Heinrich Franz Pepping in Duisburg, Pepping first studied to be a teacher. From 1922 to 1926 he studied composition at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik with Walter Gmeindl, a pupil of Franz Schreker.
Ernst Heinrich Franz Pepping, born in Duisburg, initially planned to be an educator. From 1922 to 1926, he studied composition at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik under Walter Gmeindl, who was a student of Franz Schreker.