One of the country’s best loved events, the Festival Musical du Hainaut, is taking on a new format called EKINOX.
After half a century, the Hainaut music festival is redrawing its map, focusing on two cities (Mons and Charleroi) and two partner institutions, Mars/Arsonic and the Palais des Beaux-Arts.
The programme was curated by artistic co-directors Jean-Paul Dessy and Frédéric Delcroix. The name EKINOX, a nod to the autumn equinox, embodies finding diversity in the balance and dialogue between places, genres, generations, and audiences.
Travel’, the overarching theme of Les Festivals de Wallonie (FDW) 2026, is the common thread that structures the programme.
The concerts are designed as destinations, as a journey from one continent to another, from one century to the next, from one musical form to another. ” We are creating a truly festive classical music festival that is accessible to everyone, resolutely open to the curious, and not reserved for specialists ,” summarizes Frédéric Delcroix.
The festival redesigned
This new approach mobilizes the public between Mons and Charleroi, something that happens too rarely between two cities that are nevertheless so close to each other. For artistic co-directors Jean-Paul Dessy and Frédéric Delcroix, this is also the core of the program they have developed together, involving significant exchange between the two partner institutions, Mars/Arsonic in Mons and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Charleroi. The theme ‘Travel’ is also given very concrete form, for example in the form of shuttle buses that will connect the two cities during the festival.
EKINOX kicks off on October 2 at Arsonic (Mons) with a portrait of the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks. Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles , Adrien Thiberguen , and Pierre Fontenelle explore the universe of the eighty-year-old composer. The deep sounds of the strings, inner landscapes, and spiritual dynamics come to life in the Belgian premieres by Presence and Bass Trip ( Pēteris Vasks entre ciel et terre , October 2, 8 pm, Arsonic, Mons).
The following day, the first shuttle bus runs from Charleroi to Mons for Nos matins intérieurs.
This scenic performance defies all categories, as the Quatuor Debussy and the Collectif Petit Travers unite chamber music and juggling ( Nos matins intérieurs , October 3, 8 pm, Théâtre le Manège, Mons).
On October 9, the shuttle bus takes the audience from Mons to Charleroi. That evening, pianist André Manoukian continues his search for his Armenian roots with La Sultane in a quartet with double bass, cello, and tablas. Family memories, jazz, and Oriental sounds come together there (October 9, 8 pm, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi).
The theme ‘Travel’ also runs literally through the program: the journey between different countries and regions. The two festival artists of FDW 2026, tenors Pierre Derhet and Maxime Melnik , meet lied accompanist and pianist Julius Drake for a sung journey. Together they travel from Elizabethan England to Broadway, with works by Vaughan Williams, Holst, Gurney, Britten, and others ( Songs of Travel , October 6, 12:30, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi; the same day at 8 pm in Arsonic, Mons).
In Charleroi, Marina Ksovreli (piano) and her son Georges-Lucas Ilouridzé (clarinet) head east around their Georgian heritage and roots ( Vent d’Est , 09.10, 6 pm, La Réserve, the former nightclub of the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi).
French pianist Vittorio Forte explores both his own memories and the vast plains of Latin America, with works ranging from Villa-Lobos to Piazzolla, Gardel, and Lecuona.
He pays homage to his Argentine piano teacher José Lepore, who introduced him to tango, bossanova, and other Creole sounds ( Volver , 10.10, 6 pm, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi).
The concert is preceded in the morning by a public masterclass ( Volver , 10.10, 10 am, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi).
In between, Manu Comté and the Quatuor Varèse bring Piazzolla’s Five Tango Sensations into dialogue with five new pieces commissioned by Gerardo Jerez Le Cam. The listener is given a musical guided tour through an imaginary Buenos Aires in ten moods ( Sensations , October 8, 7 pm, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi).
A journey through time and space
EKINOX also invites you to time travel. The Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie , under the direction of violinist Jean-Frédéric Molard , traverses not only continents but also centuries, from Lassus to Vivaldi, from Mozart to Tchaikovsky, from Piazzolla to the Belgian composer Michel Lysight ( Escales , October 8, 8 pm, Arsonic, Mons).
Musicatreize, under the direction of Roland Hayrabedian, unites Renaissance music (Lassus) and contemporary works (Messiaen, Hersant). A creation by Jean-Paul Dessy bridges the gap between centuries ( Musicatreize , October 11, 6 pm, Arsonic, Mons).
The symphony orchestra and choirs of ARTS², joined by the ESMD from Lille and conducted by Nicolas Krüger , venture into an exploration of England, America, and the cosmos through works by Britten (who died 50 years ago), Holst, and Colin Matthews ( Les Planètes. Visions transatlantiques , 20.10, 8 pm, Collégiale Sainte-Waudru, Mons; 22.10, 8 pm, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi).
Other performances push the boundaries of the concert format itself. The HERMESensemble sets Gavin Bryars’ The Sinking of the Titanic to music.
This version for live ensemble, video projection, and surround sound is visually framed by Lise Bruyneel.
This premiere in Wallonia transforms the Titanic disaster into a contemporary requiem (10.10, 8 pm, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi). At Arsonic, two big names in Belgian jazz, Charles Loos and Eric Legnini , share the stage for the first time in a duet ( Growlin’ Faces , 07.10, 8 pm, Arsonic, Mons). Young talent is also given a platform with Ensemble Satellite , laureate of the Génération classique 2025 competition. Expect a program featuring Bach, Rohnstock, Le Fauré, and a premiere by Cédric Havard (10.10, 8 pm, Arsonic, Mons).
A trip for all ages
Transmission between generations is also central to this edition. One of the highlights is the arrival of the new Steinway D at Arsonic. The concert grand piano was selected from nine instruments in the Steinway workshops in Hamburg. For the inauguration, ten renowned pianists will play the instrument in succession: Frank Braley, Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, André Ristic, Hans Ryckelynck, Stéphane Ginsburgh, Nathalie Loriers, Éliane Reyes, Thérèse Malengreau, Cansu Sanlidag , and Élodie Vignon . Multiple generations thus gather around a single instrument ( Le piano nouveau est arrivé , October 4, 3 pm & 7 pm, Arsonic, Mons).
For the very little ones, there is Forêt Paisible . Toddlers (from 18 months) step into a sound-rich and luminous forest and experience their first concert (October 7, 2:30 PM and 4:00 PM, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi). For children aged 7 and up , the Anneau Théâtre presents, through object theatre, the true and at the same time delightfully absurd story of a Bulgarian cow that was condemned for crossing a European border ( Penka, la vache bulgare (FR), October 4, 4:00 PM, Théâtre le Manège, Mons).
Eleven oboists and about twenty dancers will perform the closing concert with a free performance in honor of the 15th anniversary of ARTS² ( Là où le souffle se courbe , October 22, 6 pm, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi).
“Music takes you on a journey through time, from the sixteenth century to today. The perfect antidote to tourist consumerism,” said Jean-Paul Dessy.
- photo credit: André Manoukian © Emmanuelle Nemoz
