1974 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Scandinavian music in 1974.

Events

• 5 April – The first Vossajazz festival opens in Voss, Norway, running until 7 April. ^[1]
• 6 April – The Eurovision Song Contest is held in Brighton, UK, and is won by Swedish band ABBA, with the song "Waterloo". ^[2] Finland and Norway finish in 13th and 14th place respectively. ^[3]
• unknown date – The Swedish opera company NorrlandsOperan is founded in Umeå. ^[4]

New works

• Einar Englund – Piano Concerto No. 2 ^[5]
• Ulf Grahn – Two Dances ^[6]
• Yngve Sköld – String quartet no. 4 ^[7]

Top hit singles

• ABBA – "Honey, Honey" (#2 Germany; #4 Austria) ^[8]
• Inger Lise Rypdal – "En spennende dag for Josefine" (#1 Norway) ^[9]
• Anne-Karine Strøm & the Bendik Singers – "Hvor er du" ^[10]

Hit albums

• ABBA – Waterloo (#1 Norway, Sweden)
• Flying Norwegians – New Day
• Ted Gärdestad – Upptåg (#1 Sweden) ^[11]
• Carita Holmström – Toinen Levy ^[12]
• Knutsen & Ludvigsen – Knutsen og Ludvigsen nr. 3 – Tut ^[13]
• Lillebjørn Nilsen – …og Fia hadde sko

Eurovision Song Contest

• Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974
• Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974

Film and television music

• Bent Fabricius-Bjerre – Olsenbanden møter Kongen & Knekten ^[14]

Musical films

• Dunderklumpen! , with music by Toots Thielemans
• Knutsen & Ludvigsen , with music by Øystein Dolmen & Gustav Lorentzen ^[15]

Births

• 17 January – Jaakko Kuusisto, Finnish violinist, conductor and composer (died 2022) ^[16]
• 17 April – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish heavy metal musician ^[17]
• 13 June – Selma Björnsdóttir, Icelandic singer ^[18]
• 31 October – Natasja Saad, Danish rapper and singer (died 2007) ^[19]

Deaths

• 15 February – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (born 1887) ^[20]
• 20 February – David Monrad Johansen, Norwegian composer (born 1888) ^[21]
• 14 June – Knud Jeppesen, Danish musicologist and composer (born 1892) ^[22]
• 31 October – Olav Gurvin, Norwegian conductor and composer (born 1893) ^[23]
• 23 November – Páll Ísólfsson, Icelandic musician, conductor and composer, first director of the Reykjavík School of Music (born 1893) ^[24]
• 26 December – Knudåge Riisager, Danish composer (born 1897) ^[25]

See also

• 1974 in Denmark
• 1974 in Iceland
• 1974 in Norwegian music
• 1974 in Sweden

References

1. "Vossajazz". Vossajazz . Retrieved 17 March 2017.
2. "Brighton 1974". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
3. "Brighton 1974 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
4. "About". Norrlandsoperan. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
5. David Daniels; David W. Oertel; David Rahbee (2022). Daniels' Orchestral Music. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 273. ISBN   9781442275218.
6. "Two Dances. Dance of the Shapes, Dance of the Island". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
7. "String quartet no. 4". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
8. Robert Scott (2002). ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song. Carlton Books Limited. p. 51.
9. Larsen, Svend Erik Løken (13 February 2009). "Inger Lise Rypdal – Sanger og Skuespiller" (in Norwegian). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon . Retrieved 9 November 2015.
10. Billboard Music Week, volume 86. Billboard Publications. 1974.
11. Jan Gradvall; Björn Nordström; Ulf Nordström; Annina Rabe (2009). Tusen svenska klassiker: böcker, filmer, skivor, tv-program från 1956 till i dag (in Swedish). Norstedt. ISBN   9789113017174.
12. Timo Kalevi Tekijä-Forss (2024). =Tuntematon Juice Leskinen – Kertomuksia toisille artisteille tehdyistä lauluista ja niiden synnystä (in Finnish). Helsinki: Like. p. 18. ISBN   978-951-1-49191-0.
13. Norsk bokfortegnelse (in Norwegian). Norske bokhandlerforening. 1987. p. 156.
14. "Olsen-banden møter Kongen og Knekten". Norsk filmografi (in Norwegian). Retrieved 14 October 2025.
15. "Knutsen & Ludvigsen". MUBI. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
16. "Violinist, composer and conductor Jaakko Kuusisto has died". The Strad. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
17. "Mikael Åkerfeldt". Opeth – Official Website. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
18. "Selma og sönggenið". Dagblaðið Vísir - DV. 21 May 2005. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
19. "Natasja Saad". gravsted.dk. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
20. Don Michael Randel (1996). "Atterberg, Kurt". The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN   0-674-37299-9
21. Hansen, Ivar Roger (13 February 2009). "David Monrad Johansen". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
22. Bergsagel, John. "Jeppesen, Knud". Grove Music Online . Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press. Retrieved 31 July 2013.(subscription required)
23. Grinde, Nils (13 February 2009). "Olav Gurvin". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
24. Árni Heimir Ingólfsson: "Páll Ísólfsson." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: Macmillan, 2001), 12: 616–617
25. "Knudåge Riisager – Dansk komponist". gravsted.dk. 2004. Retrieved 11 November 2010.