1959 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and compositions of the year 1959 in Scandinavian music.

Events

• 29 January – Melodifestivalen, an annual Swedish music competition that determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, is held for the first time, in Stockholm. ^[1]
• 12 March – The 4th Eurovision Song Contest is held in France. Denmark (5th) and Sweden (9th) are the only Scandinavian countries to compete. ^[2]
• unknown date – Icelandic new-music collective Musica Nova is founded by Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson and others. ^[3]

New works

• Sven-Erik Bäck – A Game around a Game ^[4]
• Niels Viggo Bentzon – Piano Sonata No. 7, op. 121 ^[5]

Popular music

• Sven Gyldmark – "Bornholmervalsen", performed by Ib Mossin ^[6]
• Per Martin Hamberg – "Nu tändas åter ljusen i min lilla stad" ^[7]

New recordings

• Louis Armstrong – Americans in Sweden ^[8]

Film music

• Sven Gyldmark
  • Far til fire på Bornholm ^[6]
  • Vi er allesammen tossede ^[9]
• Maj Sønstevold – Støv på hjernen

Musical films

• Raggare! , with music by Harry Arnold and others ^[10]

Births

• 12 January – Per Gessle, Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist ^[11]
• 6 August – Sigurd Køhn Norwegian jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer (died 2004) ^[12]
• 14 September – Morten Harket, Norwegian singer ^[13]
• 13 December – Staffan William-Olsson, Swedish jazz musician ^[14]

Deaths

• 2 March – Yrjö Kilpinen, Finnish composer (born 1892) ^[15]
• 13 April – Dagmar Hansen, Danish singer and entertainer (born 1871) ^[16]
• 21 April – Hakon Andersen, Danish organist and composer (born 1875) ^{[ citation needed ]}
• 30 April – Daniel Andersen, Danish composer, sculptor and ceramist (born 1885) ^[17]
• 3 June – Ole Windingstad, Norwegian pianist, conductor and composer (born 1886) ^[18]
• 21 June – Fridtjof Backer-Grøndahl, Norwegian pianist, composer and music teacher (born 1885). ^[19]
• 7 August – Armas Launis, Finnish composer and ethnomusicologist (born 1884) ^[20]

See also

• 1959 in Denmark
• 1959 in Iceland
• 1959 in Norwegian music
• 1959 in Sweden

References

1. Leif Thorsson (2006). Melodifestivalen genom tiderna. p. 19publisher=Premium Publishing AB. ISBN   91-89136-29-2.
2. "Cannes 1959 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
3. "Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson tónskáld". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 4 January 2005. p. 25. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
4. Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. Library of Congress. 1961. p. 132.
5. "Sonate nr 7 for klaver". Wise Music Classical. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
6. "Far til fire på Bornholm". Danskefilm.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 23 October 2025.
7. Anders Berglund (2022). Musik att minnas: Vägvisare till vår gemensamma sångskatt. p. 30. ISBN   9789180572279.
8. "Americans in Sweden". Mountain View Public Library. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
9. "Vi er allesammen tossede – Danmarks Nationalfilmografi". Archived from the original on 6 September 2007.
10. "Raggare!". Swedish Film Database. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
11. Graham Betts (2005). Complete UK Hit Albums 1956-2005. Collins. p. 347. ISBN   9780007205325.
12. "Sigurd Køhn". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian).
13. Potton, Ed (18 July 2009). "Guest List: The pop singer Morten Harket" . The Times . Retrieved 29 October 2022.
14. Staffan William-Olsson (in Norwegian). Store Norske Leksikon . Retrieved 23 October 2025.
15. The NATS Bulletin: The Official Magazine of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. 1970. p. 2.
16. Thomsen, Allan Mylius (2001). "Dagmar Hansen". Kvindebiografisk Leksikon (in Danish). 2: 8–9.
17. "Daniel Andersesn". Gravsted. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
18. Cleven, Harry T. (13 February 2009). "Ole Windingstad". Norsk Biografisk Leksikon . Retrieved 25 March 2017.
19. Norheim, Øyvind (13 February 2009). "Fridtjof Backer Grøndahl". Norsk Biografisk Leksikon . Retrieved 25 March 2017.
20. Susanne Rode-Breymann (1994). Die Wiener Staatsoper in den Zwischenkriegsjahren: ihr Beitrag zum zeitgenössischen Musiktheater (in German). H. Schneider. p. 379. ISBN   9783795207724.