FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2008 file photo, Christoph Eschenbach directs the Austrian Wiener Philharmoniker, during a concert in "St.Paul Outside the Walls" Basilica in Rome. Eschenbach plans to step down as music director from the National Symphony Orchestra in 2017 and will become conductor laureate for three years. The National Symphony and Kennedy Center announced Wednesday that the 75-year-old Eschenbach decided he will not extend his position as music director after seven seasons. Eschenbach joined the symphony in 2009. He is credited with refocusing the symphony's approach to the core European orchestral music. The orchestra has commissioned or co-commissioned 11 new works under Eschenbach. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File)