Terry Ponick\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Apr 1, 2016<\/p>\n WASHINGTON,<\/strong>\u00a0April 1, 2016 \u2013 The National Symphony Orchestra opened the first of a pair of regular series programs Thursday evening at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall that feature well-known violinist-conductor Nikolaj Znaider in each of his roles.<\/p>\n After the break, the Orchestra returned to perform American composer Pierre Jalbert\u2019s newish composition entitled \u201cIn Aeternam.\u201d\u00a0\u201cIn Aeternam\u201d is a highly spiritual composition\u2014a tone-poem, really\u2014that the composer was inspired to write in response to the tragic death of a young relative at birth as well as to rejoice at the arrival of his own newborn son.<\/p>\n Unfamiliar with the piece, I did a little online sleuthing prior to the concert to get a little more background and found this useful passage on\u00a0Mr. Jalbert\u2019s own website<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cIn Aeternam\u00a0incorporates a fast, steady pulse that stems from Jalbert\u2019s experience of hearing his son\u2019s heartbeat for the first time during a pre-natal examination.\u00a0In Aeternam\u00a0is simultaneously a memorial for a niece who died at birth and a celebration of his son\u2019s arrival, mixing grief with hope in a compelling reflection on the fragility of existence. Wrote the\u00a0San Francisco Chronicle, \u2018The piece revealed powerful command of the orchestra and a vivid emotional range.\u00a0In Aeternam\u00a0made a listener eager to hear more.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n