1968 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Scandinavian music in 1968.

Events

• 8 February – Rued Langgaard's Violin Concerto, originally written in 1943-44) is premiered on Danish radio, with Kai Laursen as soloist and the Odense Symphony Orchestra. ^[1]
• 6 April – The 13th Eurovision Song Contest is held in London, UK, and is won by Spain. Of the three competing Scandinavian countries, Sweden finish in 5th place, Norway 13th and Finland 16th. ^[2]

New works

• Carl-Olof Anderberg – The Emigrant from Brisbane ^[3]
• Bo Nilsson – Attraktionen, for string quartet ^[4]
• Per Nørgård
  • Rejse ind i den gyldne skærm (Voyage into the Golden Screen) ^[5]
  • Concerto for Accordion, "Recall" ^[6]
• Einojuhani Rautavaara – Cello Concerto No.1 ^[7]

Popular music

• Rauno Lehtinen – "Muistan kesän", performed by Kai Hyttinen ^[8]
• Peter Himmelstrand – "Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mig", performed by Claes-Göran Hederström (#1 Sweden; ^[9] )

Hit albums

• Hep Stars – It's Been a Long Long Time ^[10]

Recordings

• Egil Kapstad Choir & Orchestra – Syner (Norsk Jazzforum) ^[11]
• Various artists – Perspectives '68 ^[12]

Film and television music

• Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson – The Seduction of Inga ^[13]
• Sven Gyldmark – Min søsters børn vælter byen ^[14]

Musical films

• Under ditt parasoll , featuring the Sven-Ingvars orchestra ^[15]

Births

• 22 March – Øystein Aarseth, Norwegian black metal guitarist and music producer (died 1993) ^[16]
• 30 March – Jon Øivind Ness, Norwegian composer ^[17]
• 7 April – Stein Torleif Bjella, Norwegian singer and songwriter ^[18]

Deaths

• 14 April – Bjarne Amdahl, Norwegian composer and orchestra conductor (born 1903) ^[19]
• 14 June – Karl-Birger Blomdahl, Swedish composer (born 1916) ^[20]
• 30 July – Jón Leifs, Icelandic composer, pianist, and conductor (lung cancer; born 1899) ^[21]
• 17 September – Jolly Kramer-Johansen, composer (born 1902) ^[22]
• 18 October – Eyvin Andersen, Danish organist and composer (born 1914) ^[23]
• 29 October – Marius Ulfrstad, Norwegian conductor and composer (born 1890). ^[24]
• 9 November – Jan Johansson, Swedish jazz pianist (car crash; born 1931) ^[25]
• 23 November – Reinhold Svensson, Swedish jazz pianist, Hammond organist and composer (born 1919) ^[26]
• 26 December – Inger Bang Lund, Norwegian pianist and composer (born 1876) ^[27]

See also

• 1968 in Denmark
• 1968 in Iceland
• 1969 in Norwegian music
• 1969 in Sweden

References

1. "Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) - The Early Recordings 1957-1981: Symphonies and Orchestral Works". Musicweb International. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
2. "London 1968 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
3. "The Emigrant from Brisbane". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
4. "Bo Nilsson". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
5. "Rejse ind i den gyldne skærm (1968)". Wise Music Classical. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
6. "Works". Ernst von Siemens Music Prize 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
7. Barbara Blanchard Hong (2022). Rautavaara's Journey in Music. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 166. ISBN   9798881857448.
8. "Muistan kesän". Jio Saavn. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
9. Kvällstoppen (Evening top list)
10. Palm, Carl Magnus (2004). Benny's Road To ABBA. Premium Publishing. p. 262. ISBN   91-89136-14-4.
11. "Egil Kapstad Choir & Orchestra – Syner". Discogs.com . Retrieved 23 March 2017.
12. "Perspectives '68 - Music In Finland". All About Jazz. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
13. "The Seduction of Inga". MUBI. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
14. "Min søsters børn vælter byen". danskefilm. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
15. "Under ditt parasoll". Svensk Filmdatabas (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 December 2025.
16. "Øystein Aarseth a.k.a Euronymous: Mayhem". BeyondTheVeil666. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
17. Holbæk-Hansen, Hilde (18 June 2024). "Jon Øivind Ness". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
18. Bergan, Jon Vidar; Tørset, Espen. "Stein Torleif Bjella". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
19. Larsen, Svend Erik Løken (13 February 2009). "Bjarne Amdahl". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
20. David Mason Greene (1985). Greene's biographical encyclopedia of composers. Doubleday. p. 1445. ISBN   9780385142786.
21. The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1996. p. 495. ISBN   9780674372993.
22. Grøttum, Kåre (13 February 2009). "Jolly Kramer-Johansen". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
23. "Andersen, Eyvin, 1914–1968". Library of Congress . Retrieved 12 November 2024.
24. Grinde, Nils (13 February 2009). "Marius Moaritz Ulfrstad". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
25. Cadence, volume 22. B. Rusch. 1996. p. 117.
26. "Artist Svensson dies at age 49". Billboard: 54. 21 December 1968.
27. "Lund, Inger Bang" (in Norwegian). MIC.no. 17 April 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2017.