Newport Classical will wrap its 2025-2026 Chamber Series with two concerts at the Newport Classical Recital Hall, beginning with a solo recital by pianist James Zijian Wei on Friday, May 8, and closing with a flute-and-piano program by Amir Hoshang Farsi and Mika Sasaki on Friday, June 5.
Both concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. at the recital hall, 42 Dearborn St. Tickets and additional information are available at newportclassical.org.
Wei, making his Newport debut, won first prize at the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition and has also taken top prizes at the Lang Lang Cup, the China Grand Canal Festival and the Beijing International Chopin Competition. His program opens with Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 5 and includes Samuel Barber’s “Excursions,” Lü Wencheng’s “Autumn Moon on a Calm Lake,” Ravel’s “La Valse” and Liszt’s fantasy on themes from Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni.”
Farsi and Sasaki will close the season with a program of works by Lili Boulanger, Gabriel Fauré, Ian Clarke, Reena Esmail and Yuko Uébayashi. The program includes Boulanger’s “D’un matin de printemps” and “Nocturne,” Fauré’s Sonata in A Major, Clarke’s “Orange Dawn,” Esmail’s “Zinfandel” and Uébayashi’s Sonata for Flute and Piano. The June 5 concert is supported by Ron and Maureen Early.
Farsi has been described as “virtuosic and birdlike” by I Care If You Listen. Sasaki has performed across North America, Europe and Asia and has been praised by Fanfare and the Times Argus.
The recital hall opens at 7 p.m. for both concerts, with complimentary wine provided by Gold’s Wine and Spirits served before the performance and during intermission. As part of Newport Classical’s Music Enrichment and Engagement Initiative, the visiting musicians will also appear at a local school or community organization during their time in Newport.
The Chamber Series is one of four core programs at Newport Classical, alongside the summer Music Festival, the free Community Concerts Series and the enrichment initiative. The 2026 Newport Classical Music Festival is scheduled for July 2 through 19, with performances including Broadway’s Jeremy Jordan, the Grammy-winning Harlem Quartet and a new commissioned work by composer Vivian Fung.
Newport Classical was founded in 1969 as the Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport.
