1965 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and compositions of the year 1965 in Scandinavian music.

Events

• 19 February – With 1965 designated "Sibelius Year", marked by greetings from US President Lyndon Johnson, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein organises a Young People's Concert devoted to the composer's work. ^[1]
• 21 March – The 10th Eurovision Song Contest is held in Italy, and is won by Luxembourg. Sweden participate after a year's absence, finishing in 10th place. Of the remaining Scandinavian countries, Denmark finish 7th, Norway 13th and Denmark joint 15th with no votes ^[2]
• unknown date – Tauno Marttinen is awarded a Pro Finlandia medal. ^[3]

New works

• Laci Boldemann – Svart är vitt (opera) ^[4]
• Gunnar Bucht – Strängaspel ^[5]
• Gösta Nystroem – Symphony No. 6 ("Sinfonia Tramontana") ^[6]
• Yngve Sköld – String Quartet no. 3 ^[7]

Popular music

• Reino Helismaa & Toivo Kärki – "Reppu ja reissumies", performed by Tapio Rautavaara ^[8]
• Vince Taylor – "Brand New Cadillac", performed by Hep Stars (#1 Sweden) ^[9]

New recordings

• Monica Zetterlund – Ohh! Monica ^[10]

Eurovision Song Contest

• Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965
• Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965
• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965
• Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965

Film music

• Bent Fabricius-Bjerre – Slå først Frede! ^[11]

Births

• 18 July – Veli-Matti Puumala, Finnish composer ^[12]
• 26 October – Sakari Oramo, Finnish conductor ^[13]
• 21 November – Björk, Icelandic singer-songwriter ^[14]

Deaths

• 11 January – Arne Bjørndal, Norwegian hardingfele fiddler, composer and folklorist (born 1882). ^[15]
• 7 April – David Hellström, songwriter (born 1883)^{[ citation needed ]}
• 23 May – Helge Klæstad, Norwegian composer (born 1885) ^[16]
• 3 June – Herbert Janssen, German operatic baritone of Swedish parentage (born 1892) ^[17]
• 4 July – Valdemar Eiberg, Danish jazz musician (born 1892) ^[18]

See also

• 1960s portal
• Music portal

• 1965 in Denmark
• 1965 in Iceland
• 1965 in Norwegian music
• 1965 in Sweden

References

1. "A Tribute to Sibelius". Leonardbernstein.com. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
2. "Naples 1965 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
3. Martin Anderson (7 August 2008). "Tauno Marttinen: Composer of a thousand pieces". Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
4. "Svart är vitt – sa kejsaren, fairytale opera". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
5. "Strängaspel". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
6. "Sinfonia tramontana [Symphony no. 6]". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
7. "String Quartet no. 3". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
8. Pekka Nissilä (2008). Tapio Rautavaara: Kulkurin taival – kaikki levytykset 1946–1979 (in French). Warner Music. p. 172.
9. Palm, Carl Magnus (28 October 2009). Bright Lights, Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA. Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-057-1.
10. Tom Alandh; Monica Zetterlund (2013). Hågkomster ur ett dåligt minne (in Swedish). Norstedts. ISBN   9789113058450.
11. Feature Films, 1960–1969. McFarland, Incorporated. 2010. p. 336.
12. "Veli-Matti Puumala at Fennica Gehrman". Fennica Gehrman. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
13. "Sakari Oramo (conductor)". Bach Cantatas. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
14. "SAGA BJARKAR". Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
15. Alver, Brynjulf (18 December 2009). "Arne Bjørndal". Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
16. Halvorsen, Marit (13 February 2009). "Helge Klæstad". Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
17. Laura Williams Macy, ed. (2008). The Grove Book of Opera Singers. p. 236.
18. Barry Kernfeld, ed. (1988). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Macmillan. p. 350.