Tõnu Kaljuste (1953) graduated from the Tallinn Conservatory (1976) and completed his postgraduate studies at the Leningrad Conservatory (1978). He has worked as the conductor of the Estonia Opera and as a lecturer at the Tallinn Conservatory.

In 1981 Tõnu Kaljuste formed the professional Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC). In 1993 he founded the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. From the very beginning he has been the artistic director and principal conductor of both of them. Since 1994 he has been the principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir, and starting from 1998/99 concert season of the Netherlands Chamber Choir. At the NCC Tõnu Kaljuste kept the post until the end of 2001, the other posts he left in the end of the 2000/01 concert season. From the year 2002 Tõnu Kaljuste continues as a freelancer.

Tõnu Kaljuste has worked as a guest conductor with a number of choirs and orchestras in Europe, Australia and North America and as a lecturer at international choral seminars and workshops. He was the artistic director of the Bridges of Song Festival in 1991 and choral festivals Tallinn '88, Tallinn '91 and Vox Est Fest in 1995, 1997 and 1999.Tõnu Kaljuste has set up a number of concert series dedicated to Bach and other Baroque composers either at home and abroad. He has conducted operas by Mozart, Britten, Weber and the traditional symphonic repertoire as well as the majority of contemporary Estonian music and most of the compositions by Veljo Tormis and Arvo Pärt.

For services to Estonia's musical life Tõnu Kaljuste has received the Estonian State Cultural Prize for 1991 and for 1996. In 1998 "Eesti Raadio", the state radio broadcasting company, voted Tõnu Kaljuste to The Musician of the Year. The ABC Music Foundation (supp. by The Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Osaka, Japan) presented to Tõnu Kaljuste and the Swedish Radio Choir THE ABC MUSIC AWARD 1998 for an excellent performance at The Osaka Symphony Hall on September 30, 1998. In 1999 Tõnu Kaljuste was chosen a member of the Royal Music Academy of Sweden and awarded The Robert Edler Prize for Choral Music. In 2000 he recieved The Maria Medal for expediting spiritual merits in Estonian cultural life.
Arvo Pärt's Te Deum (ECM), recorded by Tõnu Kaljuste and EPCC, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of the Best Choral Peformance in 1995.. For the recording of Alfred Schnittke`s Psalms of Repentance Tõnu Kaljuste received in 1999 the Cannes Classical Award in the Category of the Best Choral Music of the 20^th century. . In 2000 Tõnu Kaljuste was awarded the Edison Prize for Robert Heppener CD (with the Netherlands Chamber Choir, for Donemus) as well as the Diapason d'Or de l'Annee 1999 of the French music magazine Diapason in the category of Choral Music for the recording of Litany to Thunder by Veljo Tormis (with the EPCC, for ECM).

Tõnu Kaljuste's interpretations can be found on numerous CDs. The complete list of his recordings with EPCC can be seen at the discography, in addition should be mentioned three CDs, recorded with the Swedish Radio Choir:
- Vespers op.37 by Sergei Rachmaninov (Virgin Classics 5618452, 1995),
- Requiem by Alfred Schnittke / Miserere by Henryk Gorecki (Caprice Records 21515, 1995),
- Psalms of Repentance by Alfred Schnittke (ECM 1583, 1999);
the above mentioned Complete Choral Works by Robert Heppener CD (Composers'Voice 78, 1999);
Neenia, instrumental works by Heino Eller, recorded with TCO (ECM 1745, 2001).

Tõnu Kaljuste can be contacted through e-mail: kaljuste@online.ee.

Back to [Choir]| [TCO]| [Schedule]| [Discography]| [EPCC HomePage]