Violinist Zsolt Kalló is a major force in the historical performance movement in his native Hungary. The founder of the Authentic Quartet and the director of the chamber orchestra Capella Savaria, he has also performed as a concertmaster or soloist with a variety of other ensembles.

Kalló was born in Gyor in northwestern Hungary, between Budapest and Vienna, on March 6, 1967. He enrolled at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary's premier music school, in 1985, studying there with Eszter Perényi and graduating with honors in 1990. Kalló went on for further studies at the Salzburg Mozarteum with famed violinist Sándor Végh. After completing his studies, he performed with a variety of early music ensembles, including Sonora Hungarica, Concerto Armonico, and the Orfeo Ensemble. As his solo career grew, he was often featured on Hungarian radio and television. At a time when historically oriented performances were fairly rare in Hungary, he founded several influential groups, Trio Antiqua and then, in 2002, the Authentic Quartet, of which he remains the first violinist. The latter group has appeared at the Haydn at Esterháza Festival and has recorded world premieres of various Classical-era quartets, including those by Beethoven's teacher Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Joseph Wölfl, and Franz Krommer. Later, Kalló became director of Capella Savaria, which is based in Szombathely (and bears the Roman name of that city) and has performed across Europe; he continues to hold that position.

Kalló has made various recordings with Capella Savaria for the Hungaroton label, beginning with an album of Telemann violin concertos in 1995. These have included not only Baroque and Classical-era works but also a performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, and Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 90 (Italian). In 2020, Kalló and Capella Savaria, under conductor Nicholas McGegan, issued a new recording of Mozart serenades. Kalló has taught at Szombathely Conservatory of Music, the Tibor Varga Institute of Musical Arts, and István Széchenyi University. ~ James Manheim, Rovi