# 2009 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Scandinavian music in 2009.

## Events

* 13 January – Swedish band Lord Belial cancel all planned activities after their drummer, Micke Backelin, develops a hearing problem.
* 17 January – Copenhagen's new concert hall, Koncerthuset, is officially opened by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
* 23 January – Mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland is awarded the Nordlysprisen 2009 at Nordlysfestivalen.
* 31 January – Niels Brinck wins the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2009, with "Believe Again", written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson and Ronan Keating. A new voting format is used for the competition.
* 1 February – Lead vocalist Petri Lindroos leaves Finnish band Norther, to be replaced by Aleksi Sihvonen.
* 5 February – Swedish band Steel Attack announce that guitarist Simon Johansson is leaving.
* 8 February – At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, the award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With Orchestra) goes to Hilary Hahn with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
* 23 February – Iceland's Ólafur Arnalds and the Faroes' Janus Rasmussen announce the recording debut of their new duo, Kiasmos.
* March – Norwegian musician Varg Vikernes is released from prison on parole after 16 years served for the murder of another musician, Øystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous).
* 30 March – Vocalist Roland Johansson announces he is leaving Swedish band Sonic Syndicate. He is later replaced by Nathan James Biggs.
* 15 May – Hrafna Hanna Elísa Herbertsdóttir wins the fourth series of Idol stjörnuleit, Iceland's version of Pop Idols.
* 16 May – Belarus-born Alexander Rybak wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow for Norway with the song "Fairytale".
* 10 June – The complete version of Frederik Magle's Cantabile is premièred at the Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, at a concert to celebrate the 75th birthday of Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, on whose poems the work was based.
* 18 June – The Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, Nordnorsk Opera og Symfoniorkester, is founded in Tromsø.
* 25 July – Masterplan announce that Norwegian vocalist Jørn Lande has returned to the band.
* 2 November – Hymn to Life – Entr'acte, the autobiography of former Stratovarius member Timo Tolkki, is published through Goldenworks Ltd./Blacksmith Ltd.
* 11 November – Mikkel Sandager, Morten Sandager and Mike Park announce that they are leaving Danish band Mercenary.
* 11 December – Performers at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo include Amadou & Mariam, Alexander Rybak, Donna Summer, Lang Lang and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
* 22 December – Per Eriksson and Niklas Sandin join Katatonia after the Norrman brothers leave the band.

## New works

* Kalevi Aho – String Quintet Hommage à Schubert
* Anders Eliasson – Concerto per violino, viola ed orchestra da camera: dubbelkonsert för violin, viola och kammarorkester (Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra: Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Chamber Orchestra [2 Horns, 2 Oboes und Strings])
* Ilkka Kuusisto – Taipaleenjoki
* Magnus Lindberg – Graffiti, for chorus and orchestra
* Frederik Magle – Symphonic suite Cantabile
* Einojuhani Rautavaara – Towards the Horizon (second cello concerto)
* Esa-Pekka Salonen – Violin Concerto
* Marie Samuelsson – Sjörök under Stockholms broar (Sea smoke under Stockholms bridges), for string quartet

## Film scores and incidental music

* Kristian Eidnes Andersen – Antichrist
* Jacob Groth – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

## Albums released
### January

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 23 | Sirenia | The 13th Floor | Nuclear Blast Records | Partly recorded in the US | |
| 30 | Deathstars | Night Electric Night | Nuclear Blast | | |

### February

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 3 | This Ending | Dead Harvest | Metal Blade | |
| 25 | Syster Sol | Dömd att bli bedömd | Rudeboy Records | |
| 27 | Arch Enemy | Manifesto of Arch Enemy | Century Media Records | Compilation album |

### March

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 11 | Nightwish | Made in Hong Kong (And in Various Other Places) | Spinefarm, Roadrunner, Nuclear Blast | Live album | 31 March 2009 (US) |
| 11 | Dark the Suns | All Ends in Silence | Firebox Records | | |

### April

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 9 | Beherit | Engram | Spinefarm Records | |
| 15 | Ajattara | Noitumaa | Ranka Recordings | |
| 21 | Bloodbound | Tabula Rasa | Blistering Records | |
| 27 | Unanimated | In the Light of Darkness | Regain Records | First album after a ten-year break |

### May

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 6 | Amoral | Show Your Colors | Spinefarm | First album with Ari Koivunen |
| 13 | Amberian Dawn | The Clouds of Northland Thunder | KHY Suomen Musiikki | |
| 29 | Alexander Rybak | Fairytales | EMI | Debut album |

### June

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 16 | Madder Mortem | Eight Ways | Peaceville Records | | |
| 24 | Elias Viljanen | Fire-Hearted | Spinefarm Records | | |

### July

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 29 | Pantheon I | Worlds I Create | Candlelight Records | | |

### August

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 28 | Jorn | Dukebox | AFM Records | Compilation of tracks from Jørn Lande's solo albums | |

### September

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 7 | Solveig Slettahjell & Slow Motion Orchestra | Tarpan Seasons | Universal Music Group | | |
| 22 | Children of Bodom | Skeletons in the Closet | Spinefarm Records | Compilation album | |

### October

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes |
| 2 | Scar Symmetry | Dark Matter Dimensions | Nuclear Blast | First album without Christian Älvestam |
| 14 | Decadence | Chargepoint | Universal | |
| 14 | Waltari | Below Zero | Stay Heavy Records | |
| 12 | Tord Gustavsen Ensemble | Restored, Returned | ECM Records | Featuring Kristin Asbjørnsen, Tore Brunborg, Mats Eilertsen and Jarle Vespestad |

### November

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 2 | Katatonia | Night Is the New Day | Peaceville Records | | |

### December

| Day | Album | Artist | Label | Notes | Ref. |
| 9 | Yngwie Malmsteen | High Impact | Rising Force Records | Compilation album | |

## Deaths

* 8 January – Björn Haugan, 66, Swedish-born Norwegian operatic tenor (born 1942).
* 31 January – Erland von Koch, 98, Swedish composer
* 10 February – Eva Gustavson, 91, Norwegian operatic contralto
* 18 February – Miika Tenkula, 34, rock guitarist and songwriter (heart attack)
* 3 March – Flemming Flindt, 72, Danish choreographer
* 11 March – Lars Erstrand, Swedish vibraphonist
* 26 March – Arne Bendiksen, 82, Norway's "father of pop"
* 11 April – Gerda Gilboe, 94, Danish actress and singer
* 1 May – Torstein Grythe, 90, Norwegian choirmaster
* 21 July – Marcel Jacob, 45, Swedish rock musician (suicide)
* 20 November – Elisabeth Söderström, 82, Swedish singer
* 21 November – Gerhard Aspheim, 79, Norwegian trombonist