Conductor Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach is here and in the sold-out Kennedy Center Concert Hall last night, the excitement was palpable for his first program with the National Symphony Orchestra. The new music director’s tenure promises a focus on contemporary music such as Matthias Pintscher’s Hérodiade-Fragmente, which opened this first subscription concert. The piece, having premiered in 1999, received its Washington debut last night; in fact, this was the first time that the NSO…

Pianist Emanuel Ax (photo courtesy Boston Symphony Orchestra) The National Symphony Orchestra has been in a sort of leadership vacuum this season, with a carousel of guest conductors filling time until Christoph Eschenbach takes the helm next season. While the results have been varied, the month of January is shaping up to be, as expected, one of the best in recent memory for the hometown band. After a lovely performance of Elgar’s violin concerto…