Tõnu Kaljuste (born August 28, 1953) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n conductor. Born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, 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 in 1976, studying with Jüri Variste and Roman Matsov, and continued as a postgraduate at the Leningrad Conservatory 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 mus ...

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 elem ...

. 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 Hunga ...

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 in 1981. Kaljuste also conducted with the Estonian National Opera between 1978 and 1995. In October 1980, Kaljuste was a signatory of the Letter of 40 Intellectuals, a public letter in which forty prominent Estonian intellectuals defended the

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language and the official language of Estonia. It is written in the Latin script and is the first language of the majority of the country's population; it is also an official language of the European Union. Estonian is sp ...

and protested the

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

policies of the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

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 Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Propeller A propeller (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 a working flu ...

. After Estonia regained 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,

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 wi ...

, Heino Eller, 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 p ...

. 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 (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. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, Penderecki,

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody (composer), Ivan Moody as a ...

, Rachmaninov,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of musical composition, composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire, to a cultur ...

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

, 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). In 1980, he married actress Ülle Kaljuste (''née'' Side); the couple later divorced.Postimees
''Tõnu Kaljuste hülgas Ülle, kosis Kadri''. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2016.

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)
''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 choral conductors 1953 births Living people ECM Records artists EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists People from Tallinn Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 2nd Class Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Tallinn Music High School alumni Academic staff of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni 21st-century Estonian conductors (music) Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class