Why do instrument tracks take CPU when no notes are playing?

I just went and tested this theory. I created 100 empty Kontakt 4 instrument tracks. Then I added a piano sample to a single one of those Kontakt instrument tracks. The ASIO meter is 100% of course. Now I tried playing the piano, but it is not able to play. So it looks like the ASIO meter is an accurate representation of available power, at least in this case.