Mimma Guastoni, one of the most influential figures in Italian music publishing and cultural management, died in Milan on May 27, 2026, at the age of 86. Closely associated with the history of Casa Ricordi, Guastoni played a central role in the promotion of contemporary music in Italy while also helping preserve and strengthen the country’s operatic heritage through critical scholarly editions.
Guastoni spent much of her professional life at Casa Ricordi, eventually leading the historic publishing house during a period of major transformation, including its 1995 merger with BMG to form BMG Ricordi S.p.A. Widely respected within the music world, she became known for her support of avant-garde composers such as Luciano Berio, Luigi Nono, Salvatore Sciarrino, and Sylvano Bussotti.
Her collaboration with Berio was especially significant during the composer’s later years. Guastoni oversaw the publication of several of his major stage works, including Outis, premiered at Teatro alla Scala in 1996, and Cronaca del Luogo, first performed at the Salzburg Festival in 1999. These works presented major editorial and technical challenges due to their use of live electronics, spatialised sound, and unconventional notation. Under Guastoni’s leadership, Casa Ricordi developed editions capable of translating Berio’s complex ideas into practical performance materials for orchestras and opera houses internationally.
Guastoni also played a decisive role in preserving the legacy of Luigi Nono after the composer’s death in 1990. Together with Nuria Schoenberg Nono and musicologist Luciana Pestalozza, she promoted the creation of an editorial committee dedicated to Nono’s works. The initiative included the restoration and digital preservation of historical magnetic tapes associated with the composer’s electronic music experiments, many of them connected to the RAI Studio di Fonologia. Among the most ambitious projects developed under her supervision was the critical revision of Prometeo. Tragedia dell’ascolto, one of the landmark works of twentieth-century music.
Alongside her commitment to contemporary repertoire, Guastoni supported major scholarly editions of operas by Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, helping reinforce the importance of critical publishing standards in Italian opera.
Beyond music publishing, Guastoni remained deeply involved in Milan’s cultural life. She collaborated with public television through Rai Trade and worked with institutions including Musica per Roma. In later years she served as president of the Associazione Teatri per Milano – Invito a Teatro and the Associazione Musica al Tempio, while also acting as vice-president of the festival Milano Musica and the charitable foundation VIDAS. She additionally held positions on the boards of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, the Fondazione Archivio Luigi Nono, and the Fondazione Paolo Grassi.
Outside the arts sector, Guastoni dedicated time to volunteer programmes supporting immigrant children through educational assistance initiatives in Milan. In recognition of her cultural and civic contributions, the city awarded her the Ambrogino d’Oro, Milan’s Gold Medal of Civic Merit, in late 2025.
Her death marks the loss of a figure who helped shape the presentation, preservation, and dissemination of both Italy’s contemporary music scene and its historic operatic repertoire.
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