2014 in Nordic music

The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Nordic music in 2014.

Events

January

• 16 January
• The Ice Music Festival opens in Geilo, Norway, lasting until 19 January.
• Swedish band In Mourning announce that drummer Christian Netzell has left the band.
• 22 January – The Bodø Jazz Open opens in Bodø, Norway, lasting until 26 January.
• 24 January
• The Nordlysfestivalen opens in Tromsø, Norway, running until 2 February.
• Anne-Lise Sollied Allemano (soprano) is awarded the Nordlysprisen at Nordlysfestivalen.
• 30 January – Kristiansund Opera Festival opens, running until 15 February.

February

• 5 February – The Polarjazz Festival opens in Longyearbyen, Norway, running until 9 February.
• 21 February – Per ‘Sodomizer’ Eriksson leaves Katatonia, to be temporarily replaced by Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief, Wisdom of Crowds) and Tomas Åkvik (Nale).
• 28 February – Swedish DJ Avicii's single Wake Me Up becomes the first song in history to surpass 200 million listeners on Spotify, making it the platform's most-streamed track at the time. The song will remain the most-played track on the platform for 506 days until overtaken in May 2015.

March

• 14 March – The Narvik Winter Festival opens in Norway (March 14 – 23).

April

• 2 April – In Mourning announce that Mattias Bender will be their new drummer.
• 3 April – The two-day Tape to Zero event starts at Victoria, National jazz scene in Oslo.
• 11 April – Vossajazz opens at Vossavangen, Norway, running until 13 April.
• 12 April
• Sigbjørn Apeland is awarded the Vossajazzprisen 2014.
• Mats Eilertsen performs the commissioned work Rubicon for Vossajazz 2014.
• 16 April – Inferno Metal Festival 2014 opens in Oslo (April 16–19).
• 17 April – Daniel Liljekvist leaves Katatonia, and is temporarily replaced by JP Asplund and Daniel Moilanen (ex-Engel) in succession.
• 23 April – SoddJazz opens in Inderøy Municipality, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, running until 27 April.

May

• 10 May – The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark, presented by Danish television presenter Lise Rønne, musician Nikolaj Koppel and actor Pilou Asbæk. The best-performing of the Scandinavian countries is Sweden, who finish in third place with "Undo" performed by Sanna Nielsen.
• 21 May – The Festspillene i Bergen opens in Norway (May 21 – June 4).

June

• 11 June – Bergenfest opens in Bergen, Norway, lasting until 15 June.
• 21 June – Festspillene i Nord-Norge opens in Harstad, Norway, lasting until 28 June.

July

• 2 July – The Kongsberg Jazzfestival opens at Kongsberg, Norway, running until 5 July.
• 5 July – Mathias Eick receives the Kongsberg Jazz Award or DNB.prisen 2014 at the Kongsberg Jazzfestival.
• 10 July – The Stavernfestivalen opens in Stavern, Norway, lasting until 12 July.
• 14 July – Moldejazz opens in Molde, Norway, with Sidsel Endresen as artist in residence (July 14–19).
• 15 July – Norwegian trio Monkey Plot win the JazzIntro 2014 award.

August

• 11 August – The Oslo Jazzfestival opens in Norway, running until 16 August.
• 12 August – Odd André Elveland receives the Ella-prisen 2014 at the Oslo Jazzfestival.
• 31 August – The Danish National Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Fabio Luisi as its next principal conductor on a 3-year contract from 2017.

September

• 1 September – The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra announces the appointment of Susanna Mälkki as its next chief conductor on a 3-year contract from autumn 2016.
• 4 September – The Punktfestivalen opens in Kristiansand, Norway, running until 6 September.
• 10 September – The Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival 2014 starts in Oslo, Norway, running until 20 September.
• 17 September – Nordic Music Days 2014 begins in Oslo, Norway, running until 20 September; it is hosted by the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival for the Norwegian Society of Composers.

October

• 17 October – The Ekkofestival opens in Bergen, Norway, running until 25 October.
• 20 October – The Asker Jazz Festival opens in Asker Municipality, Norway, running until 26 October.
• 23 October – The Insomnia Festival opens in Tromsø, Norway, running until 26 October.

November

• 12 November – The Vardø Blues Festival (Blues i Vintermørket) opens in Norway, running until 15 November.
• 13 November – The 9th Barents Jazz, Tromsø International Jazz Festival opens in Tromsø, Norway, running until 15 November.

December

• 11 December – The Nobel Peace Prize Concert is held at Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway.

New works

• Kaija Saariaho – Maan Varjot

Albums released

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

• 24 July – Christian Falk (52), Swedish record producer and musician
• 15 August – Svein Nymo (61), Norwegian violinist and composer
• 19 August – KÃ¥re Kolberg (78), Norwegian composer.
• 29 August – Jan Groth (68), Norwegian vocalist (cancer)
• 10 October – Olav Dale (55), Norwegian jazz saxophonist, composer and orchestra leader
• 11 October – Mats Rondin (54), Swedish cellist and composer (heart attack)
• 8 December – Knut Nystedt (99), Norwegian composer.
• 12 December – John Persen (73), Norwegian composer.

References