Panka Pelishek was born on 25 May 1899 in Sofia into a musical family. Her father, Václav Pelišek, was a Czech French horn player who moved to Bulgaria to receive professional musical training. She was also the great-granddaughter of the composer
Fritz Spindler. At the age of 10, Pelishek started studying piano with Jindřich Wiesner, Lyudmila Prokopova, Andrey Stoyanov, and Ivan Torchanov. She travelled to Budapest in 1918 to study under pianist Arnold Székely at the
Franz Liszt Academy of Music for two months. Pelishek studied at the
Vienna Conservatory under
Josef Hofmann and graduated from there with honours in 1923. Pelishek toured with the singer Konstanca Kirova before she returned home to Bulgaria in 1923. There, she became a frequent concert performer, as both a soloist and in collaboration with other musicians, including the Avramov Quartet. She became renowned for her performances of
Ludwig van Beethoven's works. Pelishek continued actively performing on stage until 1950. She began her teaching career while she was still a student, teaching at the music school in
Plovdiv from 1923 to 1925; she taught at the
Sofia State Conservatory from 1925. In 1931, she became a professor at the academy, a role she held until 1977.
Svetla Protich,
Ventsislav Yankov and
Dimitar Sagaev were among her students. A commemorative essay published in 1979 in '''' praised Pelishek: == Awards ==