1966 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and compositions of the year 1966 in Scandinavian music.

Events

• March – Birgit Nilsson doubles in the roles of Venus and Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser , at the Metropolitan Opera, opposite Pekka Nuotio. ^[1]
• 5 March – The 11th Eurovision Song Contest is held in Luxembourg, and is won by Austria. Of the Scandinavian countries, Sweden finish 2nd, Norway 3rd, Finland 10th and Denmark 14th. ^[2]
• 29-30 May The first Helsinki Folk Festival takes place, in Sandvik, Espoo, Finland, as a one-off event. ^[3]
• unknown date – Nicolai Gedda is inducted into the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. ^[4]

New works

• Ulf Grahn – Symphony no 1 ^[5]
• Harald Sæverud – Symphony no 9 ^[6]
• Leif Segerstam – String Quartet no 4 ^[7]

Popular music

• Benny Andersson
  • "Consolation" (#1 Sweden for Hep Stars) ^[8]
  • "Sunny Girl" (#1 Sweden for Hep Stars) ^[9]
• Benny Andersson and Svenne Hedlund – "Wedding" (#1 Sweden for Hep Stars) ^[10]
• Tages – "In My Dreams" (#1 Sweden) ^[11]

New recordings

• Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, with Nicolai Gedda and Lucia Popp; (Belmonte) Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Josef Krips, EMI ^[12]
• Steinn Steinarr – Steinn Steinarr Les Eigin Ljóð (spoken word) ^[13]

Eurovision Song Contest

• Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966
• Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966
• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966
• Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966

Film music

• Lars Johan Werle – Ön ^[14]

Musical films

• Flagermusen , with music by Johann Strauss II ^[15]

Births

• 16 April – Jarle Vespestad, Norwegian jazz drummer ^[16]
• 15 September – Håvard Gimse, cellist. ^[17]

Deaths

• 6 February – Algot Haquinius, Swedish pianist and composer (born 1890) ^[18]
• 18 March – Osvald Helmuth, Danish actor and singer (born 1894) ^[19]
• 13 May – Henrik Adam Due, Norwegian violinist (born 1891) ^[20]
• 9 August – Gösta Nystroem, Swedish composer (born 1890) ^[21]
• 17 August – Rolf Billberg, Swedish jazz saxophonist (born 1930) ^[22]

See also

• 1960s portal
• Music portal

• 1966 in Denmark
• 1966 in Iceland
• 1966 in Norwegian music
• 1966 in Sweden

References

1. Harold C. Schonberg (21 March 1966). "Music: Birgit Nilsson's 'Tannhauser'; Soprano Excels as Both Elisabeth and Venus Finnish Tenor in Debut as Hero". New York Times. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
2. "Luxembourg 1966 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
3. Takala, Anna (4 June 2020). "Harva tietää, että espoolaisella rannalla tehtiin suomalaisen popkulttuurin historiaa" [Few people know that history of Finnish popular culture was made on the shore in Espoo]. HS Helsinki (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. pp. 12–13. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
4. "Nicolai Gedda (1925-2017)". Nordics Info. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
5. "Sinfonie no 1". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
6. "Allmusic: Harald Saeverud biography" . Retrieved 25 March 2017.
7. American Record Guide, volume 40. Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation. 1977. p. 33.
8. "The Hep Stars - Discography". www.thehepstars.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
9. "The Hep Stars - Sunny Girl". www.thehepstars.se. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
10. "Wedding". smdb.kb.se (in Swedish). Svensk mediedatabas. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
11. Anon. (9 July 1966). "Nästa Tages-platta lär bli en av deras mer framgångsrika" [The Next Disc by Tages Will Become One of Their More Successful]. Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning (in Swedish). p. 7. Retrieved 21 February 2025– via National Library of Sweden.
12. Ralph Moore (30 March 2023). "Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail - A selective survey of recordings". Music Web International. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
13. "Steinn Steinarr – Efni á plötum". Glatkistan. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
14. "Ön (1966)". The Swedish Film Database. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
15. "Flagermusen". Danish Film Database . Retrieved 13 February 2025.
16. "Jarle Vespestad". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). 26 November 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
17. "Håvard Gimse". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 June 2025.
18. Helmer, Axel. "J Algot Haquinius". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (SBL). Retrieved 28 April 2020.
19. "Osvald Helmuth, 71, A Danish Comedian". The New York Times . 19 March 1966. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
20. Helle, Knut, ed. (14 February 2009). "Henrik Adam Due". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
21. "Gösta Nystroem (1890-1966)". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
22. Knox, Keith (2006). "A Swedish jazzlegend". Mickey Billberg. Archived from the original on 15 March 2007.