Violinist, violist and conductor Andres Kaljuste is described by maestro Paavo Järvi as “blessed with trademark instinctive musicianship, a sensitive approach to sound and an ability to form an easy and natural bond with other musicians”.
Kaljuste is the Creative Director of Classical Studies at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet. He is also the newly appointed conductor of the Eller Sinfonietta (Estonia).
Before taking up orchestral conducting studies at the Sibelius Academy, Kaljuste trained as a violinist at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and The Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. He has performed as a soloist with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Belgrade Strings.
After studies he appeared in the ranks of some of the top orchestras in Europe, including Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Stockholm Radio Symphony Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic.
He appears frequently alongside pianist Sophia Rahman championing music by Kaljuste’s Estonian native composers Arvo Pärt and his teacher Heino Eller. The duo will release their debut album in early 2024 featuring premiere recordings of Eller’s works for violin and piano for First Hand Records.
As a conductor Kaljuste has worked with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Lahti Sinfonia, Tampere Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Opera, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Odense Symphony Orchestra.
Andres is also a keen chamber musician and appears regularly at festivals throughout Europe. He has recorded two albums of chamber music by composer Eleanor Alberga for the Navona label as well as music by Sharon Farber for Signum Records. As an instrumentalist and a conductor Kaljuste has worked alongisde artists such as Steven Isserlis, Mark Padmore, Nicholas Daniel, Alexandra Dariescu, Julian Bliss and Christopher Glynn.