Giovanni Ricordi

Ricordi studied the violin from an early age and, for a short time, became the concertmaster and conductor of the small puppet theatre Fiando. In 1803 he created a copisteria in Milan where he worked as a music copyist and dealer in printed music and instruments with the Teatro Carcano, which opened in that year, and with the Teatro Lentasio. In 1807 he studied in Leipzig at the Breitkopf & Härtel company to learn the techniques of engraving and printing. When he returned to Milan in early 1808, he founded his publishing company with a partner who dropped out by the middle of the year. That number increased to 300 after 1814 because Giovanni had secured a succession of contracts, including one in that year which allowed him to publish all the music performed at the La Scala opera house, a contract won due to his work as a prompter and exclusive copyist. The contracts allowed the company to assemble a significant catalogue of music which became the basis of the Ricordi company. It was through the gradual, as well as subsequently-produced operas, that he was able to bypass the limitations on publishing full scores, and—as Gossett notes—"not be its employee but a private entrepreneur from whom theatres rented materials". In contrast, many of Ricordi's competitors produced "hackwork manuscripts" in no way based on the composers' autographs. His adopted practices radically changed the music publishing market, ensuring that composers received revenues not only at the time they delivered the composition, but also for the subsequent productions mounted elsewhere. In 1825 he acquired all the manuscripts belong to the Teatro alla Scala, and began to circulate handwritten copies intended for rental, which alongside the sale of the reductions for soloists and piano, produced another level of demand. In addition, Ricordi's use of new techniques such as lithography and intaglio printing, he was able to reduce costs and increase the print runs. Finally, the company produced vocal scores and then complete scores. Ricordi befriended many major Italian operatic composers of his time, including Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi whose works he published. Ricordi's correspondence with Verdi is studied to gain a full insight into the latter's activities. Ricordi died on 15 March 1853 in Milan.

The recorded working language is Italian. The field of work recorded is publishing house, music and violin performance.