Tõnu Kaljuste (born August 28, 1953) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

n conductor. Born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

, Kaljuste is the son of Heino Kaljuste (1925–1989), an Estonian choral conductor, and Lia Kaljuste, a radio journalist. Tõnu sang in his father's choirs as a child, and graduated from the Tallinn Music High School (''Tallinna Muusikakeskkool'') in 1971. He completed a graduate degree at the

Tallinn Conservatory The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

in 1976, studying with Jüri Variste and

Roman Matsov Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

, and continued as a postgraduate at the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

until 1978. Kaljuste took his father's role as leader of the Ellerhein Chamber choir in 1974, an ensemble that performed choral works ranging from

Renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the T ...

to contemporary

avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original eleme ...

. He was professor of choral conducting at the Tallinn Conservatory from 1978 to 1980, and won the Best Conductor prize at the 1980

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hu ...

International Choral Competition. With financial support from the Estonian government, Kaljuste turned the Ellerhein Chamber Choir into a full-time ensemble, and renamed it the

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's princi ...

in 1981. Kaljuste also conducted with the

Estonian National Opera Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national opera company of Estonia. The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. The theatre has had several names throughout its existence. The latest one being "The Estonian Nati ...

between 1978 and 1995. In October 1980, Kaljuste was a signatory of the

Letter of 40 Intellectuals The Letter of 40 intellectuals, also The letter of 40 ( et, Neljakümne kiri), originally A public letter from Estonian SSR ( et, Avalik kiri Eesti NSV-st) was a public letter dated October 28, 1980 and posted a week later, in which 40 intellectual ...

, a public letter in which forty prominent Estonian intellectuals defended the

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,0 ...

and protested the

Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...

policies of the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

in Estonia. The signatories also expressed their unease against Republic-level government in harshly dealing with youth protests in Tallinn that were sparked a week earlier due to the banning of a public performance of the punk rock band

Propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. After Estonia won independence in 1991, many of the barriers to international performing and recording were lifted, and Kaljuste became well known for his recordings on

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

of the works of Estonian composers such as

Veljo Tormis Veljo Tormis (7 August 1930 – 21 January 2017) was an Estonian composer, regarded as one of the great contemporary choral composers and one of the most important composers of the 20th century in Estonia.Daitz, Mimi. Ancient Song Recovered: The ...

Erkki-Sven Tüür Erkki-Sven Tüür (born 16 October 1959) is an Estonian composer. Life and career Tüür () was born in Kärdla on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. He studied flute and percussion at the Tallinn Music School from 1976 to 1980 and composition w ...

Heino Eller Heino Eller (7 March 1887 – 16 June 1970) was an Estonian composer and pedagogue, known as the founder of contemporary Estonian symphonic music. Life Eller was born in Tartu, where he took private lessons in violin and music theory, played i ...

, and

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

. In 1993, he formed the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra; he was also principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir between 1994 and 2000, as well as of the

Netherlands Chamber Choir The Netherlands Chamber Choir (Dutch ''Nederlands Kamerkoor'') is a full-time and independent professional Dutch choir. It was founded in 1937 by a :nl:Felix de Nobel as the ''Chorus Pro Musica'' to perform Bach cantatas for the Dutch radio.

(1998–2000). Aside from Estonian composers, Kaljuste has also recorded works of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Тане́ев, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russia ...

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

, and others. In 2014, Kaljuste was listed by the '' Estonian World'' as the second most outstanding Estonian in that year, right behind

. Tõnu Kaljuste has won a Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category for his work on composer Arvo Pärt’s album “Adam’s Lament” at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. On 10 May, 2019 Tõnu Kaljuste was presented with the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) in the category of Contemporary Music at a gala event in Lucerne, Switzerland. Kaljuste received the award for his recording of Arvo Pärt’s four symphonies with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra (ECM).

Discography

''Arvo Pärt: The Symphonies''
(ECM, 2018)
''Heino Eller: Neenia''
(ECM, 2001)
''Alfred Schnittke: Psalms of Repentance''
(ECM, 1999) *'' Ignis'' (ECM, 1998) (With

Paul Giger Paul Giger (born 1952 in Herisau, Switzerland), is a Swiss violinist and composer. He plays contemporary classical music, jazz, and free improvised music, and specializes in extended techniques. He has released six CDs on the ECM label and co ...

)
''Arvo Pärt: Kanon Pokajanen''
(ECM, 1998)
''Arvo Pärt: Litany''
(ECM, 1996)
''Arvo Pärt: Te Deum''
(ECM, 1993)
''Veljo Tormis: Forgotten Peoples''
(ECM, 1992)

References

External links

Official websiteECM Records Artist Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaljuste, Tonu Musicians from Tallinn Estonian conductors (music) Estonian choral conductors 1953 births Living people ECM Records artists EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 2nd Class Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Tallinn Music High School alumni Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre faculty Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni 21st-century conductors (music) Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class