Ricordi

Ricordi is a plural Italian noun meaning memories or recollections. In everyday Italian, ricordi refer to personal memories, reminiscences, or keepsakes. The term can also appear in phrases describing recollections of the past or nostalgic souvenirs.

In music publishing and cultural history, Ricordi most commonly refers to Casa Ricordi, a historic Milanese publishing house. Founded in 1808 by Giovanni Ricordi, the firm soon became one of Italy’s leading music publishers, specializing in opera and vocal music. In the mid-19th century, Giovanni’s son Giulio Ricordi joined the business and emerged as a central figure, guiding the catalog and fostering collaborations with composers and librettists. Under Giulio’s leadership, the company published a substantial portion of Giuseppe Verdi’s late operas and supported the development of Puccini’s early works, among others. The Casa Ricordi imprint became synonymous with a high-quality, artistically influential catalog that helped shape the modern Italian operatic repertoire, including works by Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo.

Throughout the 20th century, Ricordi expanded its operations and remained a prominent name in music publishing, eventually becoming part of larger publishing groups through various corporate arrangements. Today, the Ricordi name continues to be associated with classical music publishing and the legacy of Italian opera, even as ownership and organizational structures have evolved. The term ricordi also remains in use as a general reference to memories and recollections in the Italian language.