Tõnu Kaljuste

Tõnu Kaljuste, born in Tallinn (Estonia) in 1953, is the son of Heino Kaljuste, who was a leading Estonian choral conductor and teacher. Tõnu Kaljuste specialised early in choral conducting and studied at both Tallinn and Leningrad Conservatories. In 1981, he embarked on a full-time professional career after his Ellerhein Chamber Choir won first prize in the Béla Bartók International Choral Competition, bringing state funding for the choir, which was renamed the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Kaljuste has said of his work with the choir that “we grew together with and through our repertoire and from working in close association with many composers. It has been very important to our work that we have been able to cooperate with living composers.” Many of those collaborations have been recorded in ECM’s New Series, starting in 1992 with Forgotten Peoples by Estonian composer Veljo Tormis. The following year saw the release of Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum, Kaljuste’s first recording also to feature the newly founded Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. Kaljuste has rightly acquired a reputation as one of Pärt’s closest and most faithful interpreters, with a list of recordings (several world premieres among them) that includes Litany (1996), Kanon Pokajanen (the magnum opus of the composer’s tintinnabuli style, which is dedicated to Kaljuste and his choir, 1998), In Principio (2009), and the Grammy-winning Adam’s Lament (2012). Kaljuste’s ECM discography also includes notable recordings of works by Erki-Sven Tüür, Alfred Schnittke, Paul Giger, Heino Eller, Brett Dean and Gesualdo.