A Sound Revival: TFI Interviews See Ning Hui on ReSounding 重生(声) | The Flying Inkpot

by Aileen Tang · February 11, 2026

ReSounding 重生(声): See Ning Hui in recital

Sun, 22 Feb 2026, 4pm

Esplanade Recital Studio

What attracts you to watch a concert? Is it the artiste, the programme or perhaps even the occasion (think Christmas concerts and Gala concerts)? Would you pick a programme that lies in your comfort zone, with pieces you know you’ve liked? Or would a programme with unfamiliar composers and works be more intriguing? Aileen Tang chats with pianist and musicologist See Ning Hui about what went into the programming of her upcoming concert ReSounding 重生(声) and why our concert palette is due for a revival.

The Flying Inkpot: First of all, can you share with us a little more about the concept behind ReSounding?

See Ning Hui: ReSounding has Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s Easter Sonata at its heart — a rediscovered piece rooted in the Bach Revival and Hensel’s hidden legacy within it. I’ve played three versions of this programme – in Manila, London, and now Singapore. The Sonata stays constant, while the surrounding works vary for each local audience.

On paper, there are 3 ‘categories’: women composers, famous names, and local composers. If we go by style, it’s mostly Romantic, a little Impressionistic, a little contemporary. But is there one strand to unite them all? That’s where the idea of ‘voices reborn and tradition reimagined’ comes in. Every piece grows out of that. Chopin’s Fantaisie is a tribute to the Polish uprising, while Florence Price’s Fantasie nègre carries the spirit of African-American resistance — different contexts, same impulse.

TFI: So much of classical music is dominated by ‘dead white men’. Can you share your thoughts about programming Fanny Mendelssohn, overshadowed by her brother Felix, and Florence Price, who broke through barriers in gender and race?

SNH: (Fanny Mendelssohn-)Hensel was truly ahead of her time. The Easter Sonata pays homage to Bach and Beethoven, but some of the textures and harmonies were quite avant-garde for 1828. You can also hear how she and Felix exchanged musical ideas. Both Hensel and Price had a strong impact on their circles. Price’s Fantasie nègre is incredibly effective for first-time listeners, and together, these works say a lot about who these composers were as individuals.

Isn’t it fascinating that we’re now reviving a Sonata by a composer who herself was central to the Bach Revival? Classical repertoire has been treated as fixed for so long, but we’re actually free to choose what we play and how we play it.

There’s a lot of debate right now, in the US, UK, and Europe, about what counts as ‘good music’ in response to calls for diversity. I think we could go in circles about that for decades and get nowhere. What interests me more is how programming can be meaningful — how the larger narrative, the juxtaposition of works, and even the words we use shape how the music is heard.

That’s the idea behind the pun 重生(声), revival through sound, not just hashtags or articles.

TFI: Could you tell us about the works of the 2 local composers featured in the concert, Ng Yu Hng and Toh Yan Ee?

SNH: Yan Ee’s ‘within a cage of echoes’ (2026) was specially commissioned. I gave her a vague idea of ‘something between tradition and innovation, to do with Singapore’. She texted me only a day after! It’s inspired by birdsinging corners, where people gather on weekend mornings with their caged songbirds. Kebun Baru is the famous one, but Yan Ee’s source is closer to home, at Serangoon North.

Yu Hng’s ‘The Memory Mansion at the End of Time’ (2021) is the perfect prelude to Hensel’s Easter Sonata. Perhaps because we both lived in London, it reminds me of those Gothic cathedrals, half ruined and covered with vines. When you stumble upon them in the city, it really makes you think about humanity and what endures.

TFI: What do you feel is the place of local works – and especially new local works – in Singapore’s concert landscape? Are audiences becoming more receptive towards them?

SNH: I only moved back to Singapore in late 2024, so I’m not the most equipped to answer this yet. From what I’ve seen, SSO audiences are curious, and there’s a small but growing number of soloists and chamber groups moving in this direction.

We can help audiences become receptive. It’s a human tendency to label things by whatever makes them unfamiliar. So, when this music is programmed, it tends to be all Singaporean, all contemporary, or all Asian. If we really want the music to feel integrated rather than niche, we need to move beyond those labels. That’s why I’m always looking for a common thread across pieces. We would benefit from repeated performances of particularly strong works, and for this music to gradually enter pedagogy as well.

TFI: What are your thoughts about the need to expose Singaporean audiences to a wider range of music? How do you navigate the tension between that and the commercial value of concerts?

I think about it as an invitation: this is a piece I know and love, which you don’t yet know or love, and I hope that by the end of this evening, you will too! I’m reminded of this when friends drag me to restaurants serving cuisines I’ve never tried. When we’re tired and busy, we don’t really want to be surprised (or shocked!) by something new. Those experiences remind me to empathise with audiences, and to strike a balance in the programme.

In terms of commercial value, most concerts worldwide don’t generate significant profit anyway, so programming alone isn’t the deciding factor. Among the soloists and chamber groups in my circles, we focus on feasibility and quality. Of course, large organisations have to think differently, but they also possess greater resources and responsibilities.

More optimistically though, the audience for this kind of music isn’t always the regular crowd, at least not yet. Many are broadly interested in the arts and come for the values the music represents. Over time, that can grow the classical music audience!

PROGRAMME
Claude Debussy Preludes ‘Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest’, ‘Les collines d’Anacapri’
Ng Yu Hng ‘The Memory Mansion at the End of Time’
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel Ostersonate
Frédéric Chopin Fantasie in F minor, Op. 49
Toh Yan Ee ‘Within a Cage of Echoes’ (commission)*
Florence Price Fantasie nègre No. 2**

*world premiere
**Singapore premiere