When The Cessation…
Composition for Trumpet, Trombone, Percussion, Piano, and Cello
Duration: approx. 8 minutes
Premiere: June 2025, ZfGM Festival, Leipzig
Composition: Kefan Chen
Performed by: Ensemble Ascolta
Trumpet: Markus Schwind
Trombone: Andrew Digby
Cello: Erik Borgir
Piano: Florian Hoelscher
Percussion: Boris Müller
About
In a time when explanations grow louder than the work itself, when the language around music often overshadows the music within, When the Cessation becomes both a question and a gesture. It reflects on a fading intimacy with sound—on how artistic expression risks becoming a performance of concept rather than an embodiment of spirit.
When The Cessation... unfolds through a tension between two forces.
I. Is Puppeteered by the Hollow begins with performance-like gestures. The musicians engage in a mechanical, looped “playing,” that feels hollow and without direction. They move like marionette puppets, drawn by invisible strings, their actions no longer driven by intent but dictated by inertia—mirroring, following, conforming.
As the piece progresses, other voices begin to emerge, carrying hints of resistance and traces of spirit. Their presence grows, gaining weight and clarity, leading to the eruption of II. Is Answered by the Spirit. This second part reclaims agency through sound. Music becomes a vessel for awareness, a metaphor for the soul of art. The spirit asserts itself, answering the hollow with resonance, shattering silence with substance.