1960 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and compositions of the year 1960 in Scandinavian music.

Events

• 12 March – The 5th Eurovision Song Contest is held in the UK. For the first time, three Scandinavian countries compete: Norway finish fourth, Denmark and Sweden (joint 10th). ^[1]
• 15 March – Swedish tenor Jussi Björling has a heart attack while performing at Covent Garden, London, but insists on continuing. ^[2]
• 20 March – Danish tenor Lauritz Melchior gives a special concert in Copenhagen to mark his 70th birthday. ^[3]
• 20 August – Jussi Björling gives his final concert performance, in Stockholm. ^[4]
• unknown date – Aulis Sallinen becomes administrator of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. ^[5]

New works

• Einojuhani Rautavaara – Symphony No. 3 ^[6]
• Hilding Rosenberg ^[7]
  • Riflessioni no. 2 for string orchestra
  • Riflessioni no. 3 for string orchestra

Popular music

• Erling Ágústsson – "Oft er fjör í Eyjum" ^[8]
• Thøger Olesen & Vidar Sandbeck – "Heksedansen", performed by Raquel Rastenni ^[9]
• Swe-Danes – "Scandinavian Shuffle" ^[10]

New recordings

• Per Asplin – Julekos (Christmas EP) ^[11]
• Otto Brandenburg – This is Otto Brandenburg ^[12]
• Dag Wirén / Bo Nilsson / Sven-Erik Bäck / Ingvar Lidholm – Ny Svensk Kammarmusik ^[13]

Film music

• Erik Nordgren – På en bänk i en park ^[14]

Births

• 9 January – Haukur Tómasson, Icelandic composer ^[15]
• 28 April – Rolf Graf, Norwegian singer, guitarist, composer and record producer (died 2013) ^[16]
• 29 April – Kari Kriikku, Finnish clarinetist ^[17]
• 12 May – Lena Willemark, Swedish fiddler, singer and composer ^[18]
• 1 October – Per Bergersen, Australian-born Norwegian singer-songwriter (died 1990) ^[19]
• 29 October – Jens Winther, Danish jazz trumpeter (died 2011) ^[20]

Deaths

• 21 January – Launy Grøndahl, Danish conductor and composer (born 1886) ^[21]
• 11 April – Zilas Görling, Swedish jazz saxophonist (born 1911) ^[22]
• 8 May – Hugo Alfvén, Swedish violinist, conductor and composer (born 1872) ^[23]
• 9 September – Jussi Björling, Swedish operatic tenor (born 1911) ^[4]

See also

• 1960 in Denmark
• 1960 in Iceland
• 1960 in Norwegian music
• 1960 in Sweden

References

1. "London 1960 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
2. "Mr Björling taken ill on stage". The Times. 16 March 1960. p. 12.
3. Fanfare, Volume 11, Issue 3. J. Flegler. 1988. p. 250.
4. Harald Henrysson; Andrew Farkas (1996). Jussi. Amadeus Press. p. 384. ISBN   9781574670103.
5. "Aulis Sallinen". Wise Music Classical. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
6. "Symphony No. 3". schottmusiclondon.com. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
7. "Riflessioni no. 3". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
8. "Oft er fjör í Eyjum". Glatkistan (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 October 2025.
9. "Raquel Rastenni: Heksedansen". 45cat.com. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
10. Björnberg, Alf; Bossius, Thomas (8 December 2016). Made in Sweden: Studies in Popular Music. Taylor & Francis. p. 228. ISBN   978-1-134-85850-7.
11. "Per Asplin". Store Norske Leksikon. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
12. "Otto Brandenburg er død". DR (in Danish). 1 March 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
13. "Ny Svensk Kammarmusik". Discogs. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
14. "På en bänk i en park". MUBI. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
15. Nordic Sounds. NOMUS. 1994. p. 2.
16. "Graf, Rolf Biography" (in Norwegian). Ballade.no. 6 August 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
17. The Clarinet. Department of Music, Idaho State University. 1991. p. 31.
18. Nordic Sounds. NOMUS. 1994. p. 24.
19. "Per Brynjulf Natrud Bergersen". selmer-norway.no. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
20. "Jens Winther". All About Jazz. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
21. "Launy Grøndahl". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
22. Erik Kjellberg. "Zilas Görling". In Barry Kernfeld (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz .
23. "Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960)". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 24 October 2025.