Casa Ricordi

Ricordi is an Italian music publishing house, founded in 1808 by the violinist Giovanni Ricordi ( 1785-1853 ) in Milan. The "casa editrice Ricordi " laid in the 19th century works of important Italian opera composers such as Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini and Giacomo Puccini.

History

In the 18th century there was little need for the reproduction of musical notes, as only new original compositions were in demand. It was hardly performed music. That changed rapidly in the 19th century, when more and more lay the great opera arias and other compositions acting out at home on the piano, not just actual keyboard music, as the old harpsichord.

Now were notes, asked as much as possible and inexpensive. Ricordi was one of the first to recognize this new train time. He signed contracts with opera companies and orchestras, walked up to the composers and promised proper royalties. So far, this usually did not get anything for the re- performance of their works. He founded the publishing house as G. Ricordi & Co. which soon drove the works of the most important Italian composer, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi and Puccini.

1825 Ricordi acquired the entire archive of Milan's La Scala theater. In 1830 he graduated from the copyright agreement with Giuseppe Verdi, a momentous decision for the future of the publisher. Within a short period Casa Ricordi has been a market leader and after the acquisition of important competitors also dominant. Especially with Verdi and the Italian right at Wagner and other major international composers made ​​the publishing big sales. Ricordi founded in 1842 a major music magazine Gazzetta Musicale di Milano and financed the music being in a big way. Beginning in 1864, the music publishing expanded, first to Naples in 1865 to Florence, Rome, 1871, 1878 London, and in 1888, after Palermo and Paris. So now he also belonged to important representatives of the French Grand Opera as Massenet.

In 1956, the family run company in generations was converted into a public company. Since 1994, the Ricordi publishing house belongs to Bertelsmann AG, since 2006 to Vivendi (Universal Music Group ). The publishers' archives remained at Bertelsmann. It dates back more than 200 years and with its more than 5000 scores ( including original manuscripts of Verdi and Puccini ) and 15,000 letters one of the largest private music archives in the world.