Philip Rham chats with Flora Valili as she prepares to perform the Schumann cello concerto with us on 30 November 2025.

PR - Welcome Flora Valila - that’s a wonderful name. What is your heritage?
FV - Thank you. Well, actually I originally come from Finland but I grew up in Brussels.
PR - Were your parents diplomats then?
FV – No, my father moved there for work in the EU when I was seven years old. I was at the conservatoire in Luxembourg when I was five, my parents just wanted to live abroad and so I just followed them.
PR - Well of course you didn’t have much choice at five!
FV- Although neither of my parents is a musician, our household was very musical. My parents listened to a lot of classical music. I went to loads of concerts as a child and I really wanted to play an instrument.
PR - But you didn’t know which one? So what age are we talking about now? About four?
FV - Exactly.
PR - That’s young! But did you have any siblings that played an instrument?
FV - Yes, my older sister played the violin as a hobby. I have two younger brothers - one of them played the violin for a bit and then gave it up for football!!
PR - So there you are at four - did you know you wanted to play the cello then? Was it a specific concert you went to or a piece of music you heard? Because it’s a large instrument for a five-year-old even with the smaller sizes.
FV - I think I looked up a lot to my sister playing the violin. My mum wanted me to play the violin, so I started but the sound was a bit too high for me. When my mum asked me why I didn’t want to carry on, I said I wanted to be able to sit when I play! So, the two options that I knew at that age were the piano or the cello. Despite starting with the piano, I chose the cello because it so resembles the voice with its range.
PR - Did a particular concert with the cello affect you in any way?
FV - I can’t really remember that far back. From what my parents have told me, whenever we went to a concert featuring a symphony, as soon as the cellos had a solo tune, I’d be really interested and excited. So that’s when it started for me.
PR - So lessons started at the conservatoire and then at seven, off to Brussels with your parents.
FV - Yes, I wanted to continue. I ended up at the conservatoire at Mons in Belgium.
PR - You were still at a very young age there. At what point did you say to yourself “I want to do this as a profession for life”?
FV - I just loved it a lot. There was no specific moment. Seeing my teachers, I knew I could be a professional as well. I actually found a diary of mine when I was a kid. In it when I was asked what my dream job was, I answered “cellist”, already at the age of six or something! But when I got older, I did start looking at more realistic jobs and for a while gave up on the idea of becoming a musician.
PR - Presumably you went to a conventional school at the same time?
FV - Yes. In Brussels and when Covid happened, I stayed a bit back in Finland and finished my high school degree there.
PR - I see you gave your first public concert at the age of 12. Where was that?
FV - It was basically my teacher at the time who had this festival in Belgium. He organised a student orchestra, and I played the Haydn concerto in C.
PR - Fantastic. How did your first performance feel? Were you nervous? Or were you thinking “Oh I’m enjoying this”? Or was it so nerve-wracking you said I never want to do this again?
FV - I did really enjoy it but I was quite nervous before the concert. It’s a big piece and still to this day it’s a big piece for me to play. I guess doing it that young you don’t have that additional overthinking that I have now.
PR - You mentioned your schooling. What were your subjects for high school degree? More science or liberal arts?
FV - Yes, I did the Finnish equivalent because of Covid. Five subjects.
PR - Which ones. presumably music?
FV - I actually didn’t do music! I did History, Chemistry, Finnish, Swedish and English.
PR - Oh, that’s a good mixture! So, at 18 you came to London to study. How did that move come about?
FV- My teacher at Mons was David Cohen who also taught in London. So, I applied, auditioned, and was accepted.
PR - And now in 2025 you’re doing a masters degree. Where are you with that?
FV - This is my last year. I have my final recital coming up in spring 2026.
PR - Do you know what you’re playing?
FV - Not yet. I have some ideas, though.
PR - There is some marvellous music written in the traditional repertoire for the cello, of course. I was wondering whether you include any contemporary music.
FV - Yes, I do a lot and especially within the context of an ensemble - I really love chamber music. At the moment, I’m doing a lot of different chamber music, piano trios, sextets and quartets - I love playing in a quartet. It’s a completely different skill to play, especially for the cellist.
PR - Do you want to carry that on, alongside a solo career?
FV - Yes absolutely! In terms of playing in an orchestra, it’s been here in the RCM. It’s obviously a very high level of musicianship.
PR - Talking about the repertoire, is there one period you especially connect with?
FV - I think I go through phases. Right now, I love Shostakovich and Schumann as well.
PR - Well that leads us very neatly to the Schumann cello concerto that you’re playing with us, the KPO. It’s quite a unique piece, isn’t it? Not the traditional three separate movements, in fact all one free-flowing piece. How do you approach it though? Do you listen to other people playing it or do you want to just sit down, play it and feel what it’s about?
FV - I’ve heard recordings of the Schumann since I was quite young, so I’ve loved the piece for a long time. When I came to play it myself, of course, there are the technical aspects of learning a piece, and after that I compared different editions.
PR -Yes of course because he did revise it right until the end and, poor man, he never heard it performed. He wrote it near the end of his life in 1850, very quickly in just two weeks and so there’s that feeling of immediacy. It wasn’t well received initially, was it? Because people couldn’t understand it - they’d been so used to the traditional form, namely fast, slow fast in three separate movements. Here was one big musical idea
So, what are the challenges then for you?
FV - I think the main challenge is to get the storyline of the piece because there is such a clear arc flowing through it, musically and structurally.
PR - Yes, there is an intensity of lyrical flow of sustained melody.
FV - Yes, it’s like a person singing with the agitato semiquaver phrases which kinds of sums up Schumann’s life really.
PR - Yes, he felt immense emotion and yet the poor man at the end of his life had mental issues. What’s the challenge technically for you?
FV - I think the musical and technical challenges are interlinked. They are not two separate issues in my mind. Especially in this piece, it can be technically quite challenging to get the emotional nuances that Schuman wrote, and to express those fully, with all the runs and the quick position changes.
PR - It’s actually like bel canto, you’re trying to keep the line, the even tone as you go up and down the fingerboard. And what’s unique as well, is this idea of using the principal cello of the orchestra accompanying you in the slow section.
FV - Absolutely! It’s one of my favourite moments - it’s very intimate.
PR - A lot of people say it’s him talking with Clara, his wife.
FV- Yes, he was devoted to his wife although he was quite strict with her. He wouldn’t let her carry on her career as a successful pianist. I think the challenge is not to let the technique get in the way of the musical line and the message.
PR - Now after all that practice, how do you relax? Do you like cooking, do you run? Do you go back to Finland a lot? Mountain-climbing?
FV- I love cooking.
PR - Oh what kind?
FV - It’s a bit of a mixture. I like baking Finnish cinnamon rolls.
PR - Mmm cinnamon rolls but I’m sorry, Flora, it’s tea-time now, where are they? Why didn’t you bring some cinnamon rolls today?
FV - I do love it but it’s time-consuming! But I do find making them very meditative. I also love being in nature, going to the forest or by the sea.
PR - So while you’re here in London, do you miss Finland, the land of the wide-open spaces?
FV - Yes. Despite living in Brussels and London, my emotional home is still Finland. Most of my family is there - my parents are still in Brussels but everyone else is in Finland.
PR - Are you a close family, do you go back there often?
FV - Yeah, I try to go as often as I can but it’s not always possible. I miss mainly the forests in Finland.
PR - Ah yes very Sibelius!! So, do you listen to a lot of Finnish folk music?
FV - I do enjoy folk music as well.
PR - Now I read here you’ve been giving concerts all over Europe, playing concertos, presumably.
FV - Well every concert is a bit different. Sometimes I’ve done chamber concerts and sonatas with a pianist.
PR - Ah good. So, after our concert you’re concentrating on your final masters recital, which is in the spring coming up. Have you got any other concerts planned?
FV - I have some recitals in Finland before Christmas.
PR - Well I think we’ve covered everything, Flora. So now we come to my traditional last question. If you could invite anybody to a dinner, anybody from the past or the present - it could be an artist or writer, or anything - who would you invite and what would you make for them?
FV - Oooh that’s a great question. The first person that comes to mind is Jacqueline du Pré - she was such an inspiration to me growing up and she’s never really left me, in a way - and then- mmmm - Clara Schumann - and Emma Watson.
PR - Wow that sounds like a great party, you’re going to have a whale of a time. What would you cook for them, some cinnamon rolls?
FV- Nooo! I think I’d make pasta carbonara.
PR - Oh that sounds wonderful - can I come too?
FV - And tiramisu for dessert, home-made, of course.
PR - Oh yes. I think Clara Schumann would like tiramisu! Well thank you so much Flora for talking with us and we’re looking forward immensely to playing this wonderful work with you.
FV- I’m really looking forward to it too.