For a short time he studied in Graz, then in Leipzig. He taught in several places including Helsinki, where he met Jean Sibelius as well as a young lady was to be his wife. In 1890 he won the Anton Rubinstein Competition with his Concert Piece for Piano and Orchestra. He taught in Moscow in 1890, and in the United States from 1891 to 1894 where he also toured as a virtuoso pianist.