Tonu Kaljuste

Estonian conductor Tõnu Kaljuste is best known for his advocacy of contemporary music from his homeland, particularly the choral works of Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Heino Eller, and Erkki-Sven Tüür. But he has also spent much of his career in the opera house, not a surprising activity for a man who began as a choral conductor. In 1974 Kaljuste succeeded his father as conductor of the Ellerhein Choral Ensemble. From this relatively modest beginning, Kaljuste launched his operatic career at the Estonian National Opera, and then won the best conductor prize at the 1980 Béla Bartók ...