The Seasons – September: Year-long Tchaikovsky series bridging music, poetry and visual art

Contemporary multimedia arts project The Seasons marks the month of September, heralding the arrival of autumn, with a Tchaikovsky piano performance, an original poem and a new illustration.

Belgian concert pianist Marie François is the creative spirit behind this artistic experience that celebrates the seasons throughout 2026. It commemorates the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s 12 piano pieces that were originally performed throughout 1876.

This new version features the composer’s works, performed by François, alongside 12 new poems by four writers and 12 illustrations by Juliane Noll. The Dutch-language poems by Lize Spit, Max Temmerman, Ester Naomi Perquin and Joke van Leeuwen are spoken by Koen De Bouw and have been translated into English by David Colmer.

The poems and illustrations are published each month in Flemish daily De Standaard, The Bulletin and on radio NPO4 in the Netherlands. A link at the end of this article provides access to the musical recordings.

Read an interview with Marie François here.

12 months, 12 pieces of music, 12 poems

The hunt (September)

hell hell the bell kids back at desks
learning what the great got up to
forwards onwards the days baking
a hundred cakes hoping there’s something
to celebrate and eight packets a second
twenty-nine thousand boxes with a
wish inside per hour past the doors
dogs sit behind waiting patiently
for the scent of their human

oh the scared water-treader who invented breaststroke
oh the listener who detected howling in houses
oh the shore-sitter who said hello to water that didn’t stay
oh the leaf-whisperer who raised the spirits of those about to fall 

much too much to do again again, the lips
craving kissing letting loose words
like cashflow versatility beautiful revolving chair
with the right brand name and forwards onwards
piles of necessity hoping to be processed
and that one silver-wrapped pistachio-flavoured egg still hidden
and all those dogs at home just waiting in
these days of so-much-to-do to-do

Joke van Leeuwen
Translated by David Colmer

Listen to this month's audio recording here

The Seasons is a project by Marie François in collaboration with VONK & Zonen, and made possible by Mercier Van Lanschot.