Ariana Kashefi and Petr Limonov

ARIANA KASHEFI ('cello)

PETR LIMONOV (pianoforte)

Beethoven

Variations on Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen (from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte) in Eb major              

Faure

Après un Rêve          

Franck             

Cello Sonata in A major (arr. of violin sonata)

Paganini

Variations on one string on a theme by Rossini (Dal tuo stellato soglio from Moses in Egypt).    

Early in his career, Beethoven wrote three sets of variations for piano and cello, two on themes from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and this recital starts with the second of these, composed in 1801. The theme is a delightful duet by Pamina and Papageno about the importance of love, and there follow seven variations that explore the theme fully.

Faure’s Après un rêve is one of his most delightful miniatures, ideally suited to the sonority of the cello, in this arrangement from the song of the same name.

Franck’s wonderful violin sonata is a staple of any violinist’s repertoire, so it is not surprising to find that cellists wanted it too. This arrangement by Jules Delsart was approved by the composer, who may in fact have originally conceived the work for the lower instrument …, before a violin commission arrived!

Paganini is often regarded as synonymous with virtuosity, a reputation that he encouraged. But there is more here, with a lovely melody by Rossini (from Moses) elaborated delightfully, as well as ingeniously, on the top string of the cello.

Ariana Kashefi

British-Persian cellist Ariana Kashefi has performed across Europe as a soloist and chamber musician in venues including the Pierre Boulez Saal, the Berlin Philharmonie, and the Purcell Room. She has a true passion for chamber music and won first prize at the Luigi Nono Chamber Music competition in Turin with her duo partner, pianist Maksim Štšura. She is a City Music Foundation Artist as well as the winner of the Making Music Award for Young Musicians and a Talent Unlimited Artist. She was also a Park Lane Group Artist and the top prize winner of the Rubinstein cello competition held in Berlin and a finalist in the prestigious Pierre Fournier Award, where she performed a recital at the Wigmore Hall. She is also a scholarship holder from Villa Musica, Rheinhald Pfalz, which awarded her the generous loan of a Gagliano cello.

Ariana studied for her master’s degree at the Hochschule fur Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin. There, she was featured twice in the ‘Excellence concert series’ for exceptional students and graduated with the highest possible mark. After completing her masters, Ariana was hand-picked by Maestro Barenboim to study at the Barenboim-Said Academy for an Artist Diploma with Professor Frans Helmerson. She has also received invaluable guidance over the years while attending IMS Prussia Cove Masterclasses with Steven Isserlis, Chigiana Academy in Siena with David Geringas, and the Kronberg Academy with Gary Hoffman.

Ariana Kashefi talks to Anthony Pinching about her career.

Petr Limonov

The pupil of Maria João Pires and Dmitri Alexeev, award-winning Russian-British pianist and conductor Petr Limonov frequently performs across Europe and the UK. He has recorded for Decca, Onyx Classics, Chandos and Champs Hill labels; the “1948” album, recorded with Laura van der Heijden, received the “Edison Klassiek” award in 2018 and the BBC “Newcomer of the Year” award in 2019.

Petr’s notable appearances include La Roque d’Antheron festival (Boris Berezovsky’s Carte Blanche, broadcast by radio France Musique), the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, a recital in The Duke’s Hall for HRH Prince Charles, TV appearances for BBC Proms Extra, and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and “Culture” TV channel (Russia). His repertoire stretches from Orlando Gibbons to Arvo Pärt.

Born in Moscow, Petr started playing the piano at the age of 5. A year later he entered the prestigious Moscow Central Music School. After winning First Prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Paris he started giving concerts throughout Europe and Russia, supported by the Vladimir Spivakov International Foundation. He went on to study with Hamish Milne and Alexander Satz at the Royal Academy of Music (London), followed by a year spent at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot, where his teachers were Ramzi Yassa and Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy. In 2010 Petr returned to London to commence his postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music with Dmitri Alexeev, obtaining his Master’s degree in 2012. During his studies Petr took part in masterclasses given by Ferenc Rados, Alfred Brendel, Stephen Hough, Vitaly Margulis and Stephen Kovacevich.