Kalliwoda (also known as ‘Kalivoda’) was born in Prague in 1801. As early as 1811 he started studying violin and composition at the Prague Conservatory and made his debut as a violinist at the age of 14. Upon completion of his studies he became a member of the Prague Opera Orchestra.

Kalliwoda lived what appears to have been a stable, hardworking musical life. For more than 40 years, from 1822 to 1865, he held the post of conductor at the court of Prince Karl Egon II of Fürstenberg and his successor in Donaueschingen in the Black Forest. His duties there included not only the writing of and care for the music of the court and church, but also the management and conducting of a choir, and annual musical journeys for education. He went into retirement in 1865, and a year later he died of a heart attack in Karlsruhe.