The End is a composition written for a classical symphony orchestra. Its subtitle, A Parody of the End of Time, reflects the central idea of the work. Throughout the piece the listener is constantly led to believe that the music is about to conclude, since it is built almost entirely from stereotypical harmonic cadences—those very formulas that traditionally signal the end of musical works in centuries of European art music. Whenever authentic, plagal, or similar cadential progressions appear, the listener instinctively anticipates the imminent conclusion of the piece, drawing on countless musical experiences accumulated over a lifetime. The End deliberately exploits this habit of listening by manipulating the listener’s expectation of closure. Each time the tonic appears and seems to confirm a final resolution, a new sequence unexpectedly begins, once again leading toward another cadential gesture and yet another anticipated ending.

This chain of cliché-like musical conclusions, each emerging from the previous one, gradually builds toward an increasingly grand and pompous final sequence. Yet the ultimate cadence does not resolve as expected. Instead of concluding on the tonic, the music abruptly halts on the dominant chord, as if inviting one of the instruments to provide the missing resolution. That final resolution—one which might be perceived as a form of musical redemption—never arrives. In this way the composition becomes a metaphor for the endless cycles of natural processes and human expectations. Throughout history countless predictions of the end of the world or the end of time have appeared, each convincing to certain groups of people in their own historical moment. As we know today, none of these expectations came to pass. From a broader perspective, space and time continue to exist even after the death of an individual, after the disappearance of life on our planet, or even after the destruction of the planet itself. Once we step outside the limits of subjective human perspective, no final end appears anywhere in sight.