Dear friends, family and music enthusiasts!

My name is Ariana Kashefi and I am British/Persian cellist. One of the most rewarding parts of my career over the past 10 years has been the musical partnership I have developed with the wonderful pianist Petr Limonov. We are thrilled to be planning our debut album, which will centre around Sergei Rachmaninov's monumental Cello Sonata. In addition to this iconic piece, the album will showcase lesser-known gems, including works by Amy Beach and Alma Mahler. These composers, who were contemporaries of Rachmaninov, created remarkable music during the same period. Through this CD, we aim not only to celebrate their brilliance but also to inspire more people to explore and appreciate their contributions to classical music.

We feel so passionately about this project, but need your help in making this dream of ours come to fruition. With the rise of digital music streaming, CDs are no longer profitable for musicians or labels, making recording mostly a self-funded endeavour. However, physical albums remain vital for an artist’s portfolio, career advancement, and as a means to share their interpretations and personal voice with a wider audience, despite the significant financial burden. Recording expenses include studio rental, equipment, technicians, and post-production, along with distribution and promotion costs.

We are lucky enough to have been offered use of the world class recording studio facilities at Champs Hill and we have already secured funding and support to cover our time there. Any funds raised through this page will go towards covering the recording engineer, production, editing and post-production fees.

We would be enormously grateful for any contributions, big or small. Any extra funds raised through this page will go towards marketing and promoting the album.

And of course anyone who donates will receive a copy of the eventual CD!

Donations of £1000 or more will be mentioned in the sleeve notes.

I will keep you all updated about the progress of the project.

Thank you in advance for your support!!