1939 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and compositions of the year 1939 in Scandinavian music.

Events

• 1 January – Jean Sibelius conducts his orchestral version of Andante festivo in a live broadcast to the New York World's Fair. ^[1]
• 17 June – The earliest surviving recording of the "Säkkijärven polkka", a folk song made popular by Finnish accordionist Viljo "Vili" Vesterinen is made at the German school in Helsinki, with former members of the Dallapé Orchestra. ^[2]
• unknown date – Eric Bengtson ceases to conduct the Svensk Filmindustri orkestern and becomes principal conductor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra. ^[3]

New works

• John Fernström – A Chinese Rhapsody ^[4]
• Hilding Rosenberg – String Quartet No. 4 ^[5]

Popular music

• Adolf Kristoffer Nielsen & Holger Sinding – "Fjellsangen" ^[6]
• Nils "Jokern" Perne och Sven Paddock – "Vårat gäng" ^[7]

Film music

• Nathan Görling – Kalle på Spången ^[8]
• Adolf Kristoffer Nielsen – Gjest Baardsen , starring Alfred Maurstad ^[9]
• Jules Sylvain – Emilie Högquist ^[10]

Births

• 21 March – Christer Boustedt, Swedish saxophonist and actor (died 1986) ^[11]
• 13 May – Kari Løvaas, Norwegian operatic soprano (died 2025) ^[12]
• 22 June – Heikki Sarmanto, Finnish jazz pianist and composer ^[13]
• 9 August
  • Odd Børre, Norwegian singer (died 2023)^{[ citation needed ]}
  • Ove Stokstad, Norwegian saxophonist (died 2018) ^[14]
• 18 August – Harald Heide-Steen Jr., Norwegian actor and singer (died 2008) ^[15]

Deaths

• 11 February – Gustav Fredrik Lange, Norwegian violinist, composer and music teacher (born 1861) ^[16]
• 3 May – Jørgen Ditleff Bondesen, Danish composer and music theorist (born 1855) ^[17]
• 10 May – Sigfús Einarsson, Icelandic organist and composer (born 1877) ^[18]
• 4 June – Carl Cohn Haste, blind Danish pianist, organist and composer (born 1874)^{[ citation needed ]}
• 3 August – August Enna, Danish composer (born 1859) ^[19]
• 16 October – Ludolf Nielsen, Danish violinist, pianist, conductor and composer (born 1876) ^[20]

See also

• 1939 in Denmark
• 1939 in Iceland
• 1939 in Norwegian music
• 1939 in Sweden

References

1. Robert Wilfred Levick Simpson (1965). Sibelius and Nielsen: A Centenary Essay. British Broadcasting Corporation. p. 22.
2. Toivo Tamminen (1993). "Säkkijärven polkka. Tarina siitä, miten polkka tuli Amerikan kautta Suomeen". Hanuri-lehti (in Finnish). 21 (3). Suomen harmonikkaliitto ry: 16–19.
3. "Eric Bengtson (1897−1948)". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
4. "Compositions". John Fernstrom. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
5. "String Quartet no. 4". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
6. Thomas Seiler (2006). "Im Leben verschollen": zur Rekontextualisierung skandinavischer Gefängnis- und Holocaustliteratur (in German). Winter. p. 187. ISBN   9783825351816.
7. "Vårat Gäng, signaturmelodi". JioSaavn. October 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
8. Mariah Larsson; Anders Marklund (2010). Swedish Film: An Introduction and Reader. Nordic Academic Press. p. 107.
9. Listen to Norway, volumes 1-3. Norwegian Music Information Centre (NMIC). 1993. p. 66.
10. Mariah Larsson; Anders Marklund (2010). Swedish Film: An Introduction and Reader. Nordic Academic Press. p. 116.
11. Jazz Forum: The Magazine of the International Jazz Federation. International Jazz Federation. 1986. p. 23.
12. "Kari Løvaas". Store Norsk Leksikon. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
13. Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2192. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
14. Bolstad, Erik (ed.). "Ove Stokstad". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
15. Larsen, Svend Erik Løken (13 February 2009). "Harald Heide-Steen Jr.". Norsk Biografisk Leksikon . Kunnskapsforlaget . Retrieved 22 December 2014.
16. Grinde, Nils (13 February 2009). "Gustav Lange". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
17. "J.D. Bondesen | lex.dk". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (in Danish). 17 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
18. "Sigfús Einarsson". Handrit. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
19. "PROF. AUGUST ENNA, DANISH COMPOSER, 80; Rose From Shoemaker to Write Operas and Ballets". New York Times. 4 August 1939. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
20. Paul Griffiths (2004). The Penguin Companion to Classical Music. Penguin Adult. ISBN   9780141009247.