The following is a list of notable events and releases of the year 1998 in
Norwegian music
Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and ...
.
Events
February
* 16 – The 1st
Polarjazz started in
Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen (, , "Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlements, northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000, and the capital and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ( ...
,
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...
(February 16 – 18).
April
* 3 – The 25th
Vossajazz
Vossajazz or Vossa Jazz (established 19 December 1973) is an international jazz festival in Voss, Norway, which takes place annually during the week before Easter, and which also includes concerts throughout the year. The festival has been led by ...
started in
Voss, Norway (April 3 – 5).
May
* 6 – The 9th
MaiJazz
MaiJazz is the Stavanger International Jazz Festival in Stavanger, Norway.
Since the first MaiJazz in 1989, the festival has presented both international and national musicians. About 200 volunteers organize 40 concerts on 20 venues in and aroun ...
started in
Stavanger, Norway
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
(May 6 – 10).
* 20 – The 26th
Nattjazz started in
Bergen, Norway
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 2025 the population is 294 029 according to Statistics Norway. The municipali ...
(May 20 – 31).
June
* 6 – The
Norwegian Wood started in
Oslo, Norway
Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...
(June 6 – 7).
July
* 13 – The 38th
Moldejazz
Molde International Jazz Festival (MIJF) or Moldejazz (established 1961 in Molde Municipality) takes place annually in July, and is known as one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It was initiated by the local Storyville Jazz Club. Since 1 ...
started in
Molde, Norway
Molde Municipality () is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of th ...
(July 13 – 18).
August
* 6 – The 11th
Notodden Blues Festival
Notodden Blues Festival (NBF) is one of the largest blues music festivals in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. The festival is held in Notodden, Norway, usually the first weekend August. It has been running annually since 1988.
The festival ...
started in
Notodden
is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden. Other population centres include the villages of Bolkesjø, G ...
(August 6 – 9).
* 12 – The 12th
Sildajazz
Sildajazz is a jazz festival, which is held annually on the second weekend of August, in Haugesund, Norway. The inaugural festival was in 1987 with four bands, and has since grown to involve around 70 bands and close to 400 Norwegian and foreign mu ...
started in
Haugesund, Norway
Haugesund () is a municipality and town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of the population (37,008) live in the Haugesund urban area in t ...
(August 12 – 16).
* 26 – The last
Kalvøyafestivalen
Kalvøyafestivalen was a Norwegian music festival arranged at Kalvøya in Bærum nearby Oslo, Norway. The festival was initiated by people connected to the folk club Hades at the art center on Høvikodden. The festival was started by Sten Rander ...
was canceled at
Kalvøya near by Oslo.
Albums released
October
* 5 – ''Rites'' (ECM Records), by
Jan Garbarek
Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music.
Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław Gar ...
Unknown date
B
;
Jon Balke
Jon Georg Balke (born 7 June 1955) is a Norwegian jazz pianist who leads the group Siwan. He is the younger brother of saxophonist Erik Balke.
Career
Balke started playing classical piano but switched to blues at 12, though he performs withi ...
* ''Saturation'' (Jazzland Recordings)
* ''Rotor'' (Curling Legs), with Cikada String Quartet
;
Ketil Bjørnstad
Ketil Bjørnstad (born 25 April 1952) is a pianist, composer and author. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian ...
* ''
The Sea II
''The Sea II'' is an album by Norwegian pianist Ketil Bjørnstad recorded in December 1996 and released on ECM in February 1998. The quartet, featuring guitarist Terje Rypdal, cellist David Darling and drummer Jon Christensen, previously releas ...
'' (ECM Recordings), with
David Darling,
Jon Christensen, and
Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3".
Career
Rypd ...
K
;
Bjørn Kruse
Bjørn Howard Kruse (born 14 August 1946) is a Norwegian painter and composer. He is also professor of composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
Personal life
Kruse is the son of Colonel Erling O. Kruse (born 1922, died 2016) and E ...
* ''Song For Winter (Works For Choir)'' (Aurora Records)
Deaths
; May
* 20 –
Robert Normann, jazz guitarist (born
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
).
; June
* 14 –
Hans W. Brimi, fiddler and farmer (born
1917
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
).
; December
* 4 –
Egil «Bop» Johansen, jazz drummer (born
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
).
Births
; April
* 25 –
Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen
Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen (born 25 April 1998) is a Sami musician, activist and actor from Tana Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. In 2016 she won the Sámi Grand Prix with her original song ''Luoddaearru'', and in 2017 she won Liet Inter ...
, Sami singer and yoiker.
See also
*
1998 in Norway
Events in the year 1998 in Norway.
Incumbents
* List of Norwegian monarchs, Monarch – Harald V
* Heads of government of Norway, Prime Minister – Kjell Magne Bondevik (Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party)
Events
...
*
Music of Norway
Much has been learned about early music in Norway from physical artifacts found during archaeological digs. These include instruments such as the lur. Viking and medieval sagas also describe musical activity, as do the accounts of priests and p ...
*
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1998 In Norwegian Music
Music of Norway
Norwegian
Music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
1990s in Norwegian music