Liisa Randalu was born in Tallinn, Estonia, and grew up in Karlsruhe, Germany, where she began her violin studies as a junior student. After further studies in Stuttgart, she turned to the viola and studied with Prof. Roland Glassl at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, and with Prof. Friedemann Weigle at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. She received additional chamber music training from Prof. Harald Schoneweg in Cologne and Prof. Günter Pichler at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.
Important artistic impulses came through masterclasses with Michael Kugel, Hariolf Schlichtig, and Thomas Riebl. She was a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation, the Hertie Foundation, the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation, and Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz. As a soloist and chamber musician, she has won several first prizes at international competitions.
From 2012 to 2022, Liisa Randalu was the violist of the internationally acclaimed Schumann Quartet. With the ensemble, she won numerous prestigious competitions, including the International Chamber Music Competition "Franz Schubert and Modern Music" in Graz and the "Quatuors à Bordeaux" competition. The quartet was honoured with several major awards, including the Jürgen Ponto Prize, the BBC Newcomer Award, the German Record Critics’ Award, and the Opus Klassik.
Together with the Schumann Quartet, she appeared regularly at renowned festivals across Europe and beyond, and performed in major concert halls including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna. Her chamber music partners during this time included renowned artists such as Sabine Meyer, Nicolas Altstaedt, Menahem Pressler, Kit Armstrong, and Alexander Lonquich.
As part of her quartet activity, Liisa Randalu also appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg, and the Bern Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2022, she has been Principal Viola of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (hr-Sinfonieorchester) and works as a lecturer for viola at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.
She plays a viola by Giovanni Pistucci (Naples), dating from the 19th century.
