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The Columbus Symphony, led by Rossen Milanov, Premieres Gregory Spears' The Mysteries

Oct. 29, 2026

The Columbus Symphony, led by Rossen Milanov, gave the world premeire performances of Gregory Spears' The Mysteries on October 23-24 at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus, OH, followed by the New York premiere at Carnegie Hall on October 28. Spears' notes:

"In a chaotic world where we crave certainty, art can help us confront the mysteries hiding in plain sight. This three movement piece (lasting 27 minutes) begins with small musical fragments that might seem familiar — a medieval fanfare, a tragic crashing chord, a warm ambient texture, a chaconne, a chant-like refrain. These musical objects are repeated, recombined, and layered in ways that allow us to hear them in new ways. Rather than trying to evoke a commonplace idea of the “mystical’, this piece is more concerned with re-imagining commonplace musical materials in ways that reveal their ambiguities and emotional depths. The first movement does this in a collage-like way, where the music snaps from one idea to another. The second is more solemn, repeating small phrases that evoke devotional forms like the litany. The third movement explores a process of fragmentation where a song is invaded by gaps of silence, as if the music could be turned on-and-off like a switch. This last movement is a meditation on absence, inspired by the disintegrating textures of late-Romanticism. It evokes a autumnal world in which decay and opulence can co-exist."

Listen to an excerpt from Love Story (2021-2022) by Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith:

Anthony Roth Costanzo/The New York Philharmonic/Jaap van Zweden, conductor

To learn more about Gregory Spears, visit schott-music.com.

Gregory Spears
The Mysteries (2026)
for orchestra
pic.2.2.2.2-4.3.2.btbn.1-timp.3perc(I. b.d, crash cym, dog whistle, sm tri, slapstick, sus cym, 2 tom-t, tubular chime [E4], vib; II. b.d, dog whistle, lg tri, slapstick, sus cym, sm tri, tubular chime [E4]; III. b.d, crash cym, dog whistle, slapstick, sus cym, tam-t, 2 tom-t, tubular chime [E4], vib)-hp.pno-str
27'

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