| Biography | Born in Tallinn, Kaljuste is the son of Heino Kaljuste (19251989), an Estonian choral conductor, and Lia Kaljuste, a radio journalist.
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 of the works of Estonian composers such as Veljo Tormis, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Heino Eller, and Arvo Pärt. 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 (19982000).
In 2014, Kaljuste was listed by the Estonian World as the second most outstanding Estonian in that year, right behind Arvo Pärt. Tõnu Kaljuste has won a Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance category for his work on composer Arvo Pärts album Adams 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 Pärts four symphonies with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra (ECM). |