1944 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and compositions of the year 1944 in Scandinavian music.

Events

• 4 August – The Swedish inhabitants of the island of Ruhnu (Runö) are evacuated to make way for the Soviet occupation. Some of their folk traditions, including music, are recorded for posterity. ^[1]
• unknown date
  • John Fernström begins working as a composer for the Malmö stadsteater (the Malmö city theatre). ^[2]
  • King Frederik IX of Denmark is recorded conducting the Orchestra of the Royal Danish Theatre. ^[3]

New works

• Jørgen Bentzon – Saturnalia (opera) ^[4]
• Klaus Egge – Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2, "Symfoniske variasjoner og fuge over en norsk folketone", Op. 21 ^[5]
• Elisabeth Huselius-Wickter – I ensamhet och tystnad ^[6]
• Vagn Holmboe – Symphony No. 5 ^[7]
• David Wikander – Passacaglia över koralen Jag ville lova och prisa ^[8]

Popular music

• Lasse Dahlquist – "Gå upp och pröva dina vingar" ^[9]
• Juul Strømme & Rolf Holst – "Farvel Finnmark" ^[10]

Musical theatre

• Song of Norway adapted by Robert Wright and George Forrest from the work of Edvard Grieg ^[11]

Film music

• Sven Gyldmark
  • Elly Petersen ^[12]
  • Teatertosset ^[13]
• Hilding Rosenberg – Torment ^[14]
• Jules Sylvain – Räkna de lyckliga stunderna blott ^[15]

Births

• 2 March – Leif Segerstam, Finnish composer and conductor (died 2024) ^[16]
• 7 June – Erling Wicklund, Swedish-Norwegian trombonist and composer (died 2019)
• 1 October – Yngvar Numme, Norwegian singer, actor, revue writer and director (died 2023) ^[17]
• 14 November – Niels la Cour, Danish composer ^[18]
• 1 December – Arja Saijonmaa, Finnish singer and actress ^[19]

Deaths

• 2 March – Johanne Stockmarr, Danish pianist (born 1869) ^[20]
• 1 April – Sandra Droucker, Norwegian pianist, composer and radio personality (born 1875) ^[21]
• 7 July – Emil Thoroddsen, Icelandic composer (born 1898) ^[22]
• 8 August – Aino Ackté, Finnish operatic soprano (born 1876) ^[23]
• 18 November – Per Biørn, Danish operatic baritone (born 1887) ^[24]

See also

• 1944 in Denmark
• 1944 in Iceland
• 1944 in Norwegian music
• 1944 in Sweden

References

1. "Historiska Runödatum". Runöborna.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 July 2025.
2. "John Fernström (1897−1961)". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
3. "King Frederik IX conducts The Orchestra of Royal Danish Theatre". Apple Music. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
4. Frede Nielsen. "Some Danish composers from 600 to the 1960s". Seismograf. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
5. Oscar Thompson (1975). The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians. Dodd, Mead. p. 629.
6. "Elisabeth Huselius-Wickter (1901−1965)". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
7. "Symfoni nr. 5, Op. 34 (1944)". Wise Music Classical. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
8. "David Wikander (1884−1955)". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
9. Uno Myggan Eriksson (1989). Myggans Nöjeslexikon vol 4. p. 40.
10. "Kommentar:Farvel Finnmark!". Ságat (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 July 2025.
11. Hischak, Thomas (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film andTelevision. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 694.
12. "Elly Petersen". Det Danske Filminstitut. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
13. "Teatertosset". DFI. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
14. "Torment". Ingmar Bergman. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
15. Per Olov Qvist; Peter von Bagh (2000). Guide to the Cinema of Sweden and Finland. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 53.
16. Nossiter, Adam. "Leif Segerstam, Who Wrote 371 Symphonies, Is Dead at 80". The New York Times . Retrieved 21 October 2024.
17. Smith-Meyer, Trond; Holen, Øyvind. "Thomas Numme". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
18. Mikael Garnæs. "Niels la Cour om kirke- og orgelmusik". DOKS. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
19. Who's who in Scandinavia. Who's Who, the international red series Verlag. 1981. p. 879.
20. Schiørring, Nils (18 July 2011). "Johanne Stockmarr" (in Danish). Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
21. "Droucker, Sandra". Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon . Retrieved 31 March 2017.
22. "Emil Thoroddsen". handrit.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 July 2025.
23. Suhonen, Pekka (29 July 2016). "Ackté, Aino (1876 - 1944)". Kansallisbiografia . Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
24. "DANISH BARITONE PER BIØRN (1887-1944) CDR". Classic Music CDs. Retrieved 21 July 2025.