Ballmanns Leiden Rosendorfer

The court of the Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt developed a magnificent and richly varied music culture very much standing up to comparison with larger music centers such as Hamburg and Mannheim. The Darmstadt court ensemble must have had considerable musical forces at its command. For five decades the court chapel master Christoph Graupner was the absolute ruler in this musical kingdom. This universal spirit and highly individual and original composer unfortunately receives much too little attention today.

The epic poem Padmâvat, written in 1540 by the Indian Muslim poet Muhammad Jâyasî, has often been read through the lens of contemporary Hindu and Muslim identity. But Thomas de Bruijn rejects the projection of modern notions of national and religious culture onto the poem, and instead looks to Jâyasî’s own time to find insight into the work.

Published in 1960, Hans-Georg Gadamer’s Truth and Method is one of the most influential books on interpretation to have appeared in the past half century. Scholars across the humanities have applied, discussed, and criticized its insights.

What does it mean to be human in a world of technology? What could be the role of religion in responding to the ecological crisis? Whom do we trust to make decisions regarding our common future? Is the public ignorant, in the eyes of our scientific experts?