A Musical Treat Featuring Vocals, Piano, and a View of the Lower Castle
"Music at 12" with Lena-Maria Kramer and Christopher Bruckman.
The “Saturdays at 12” series bids farewell to the summer semester with a musical journey around the world. Lena-Maria Kramer gave her debut concert in the foyer of the Unteres Schloss Lecture Hall Center. She was accompanied by pianist Christopher Bruckman. Due to the soprano’s illness, the concert originally scheduled for July 2025 had to be rescheduled. For the many guests, the performances were a pure delight and a contemplative way to ease into the weekend.
The journey began in Europe, continued through North and South America to Africa, and finally returned to the Old Continent. During the concert, the composers’ homelands intertwined with the settings of their stories and the soundscapes of various cultures. The characters in this musical journey around the world set out, returned, sought their fortune, lost their homeland, or kept it alive in their memories. Their stories spoke of longing and hope, of love and loss, of foreign lands and belonging. As different as the stories were—they dealt with experiences that people all over the world share. Music made them audible, transcended borders, and opened up new perspectives.
The opening was lively with Otto Nicolai’s “Nun eilet herbei” from *The Merry Wives of Windsor*. Astor Piazzolla’s “Ave Maria” was moving, and Stephanus le Roux Marais’s “Indodana” in Afrikaans was deeply touching. For her encore, Lena-Maria Kramer chose a piece that was new territory even for her—the closing hymn from the musical “Camille Claudel” by Frank Wildhorn (music) and Nan Knighton (lyrics). The song “Gold” reflects the very turbulent and at times very sad life of the French sculptor Camille Claudel.
The “Saturdays at 12” series continues on October 31 with Prof. Christina Strunck and her nonfiction book “Die Aufsteiger: Deutscher Mittelstand unter Hitler. Eine Familiengeschichte” (US – S). On November 14, “Musik um 12” returns (this time at 8 p.m.) as part of the Long Night of Music. Pianist and violinist Prof. Dr. Kolja Lessing will perform pieces ranging from Czerny to Herchenröder (US – C).
Rethinking Campus Life: Creating Space for Connections
The festival, organized by the Department of Media and Cultural Studies, provided a platform for creative minds and academic exchange. Presentations such as “Media as a Mirror of Society” explored the social and cultural influences of film, television, and digital formats. The interactive workshops allowed participants to get hands-on—from short film production to creative photography. “Our goal is to view media not merely as a consumer good, but as a tool for building social bridges,” emphasized Prof. Dr. Katharina Müller, who chaired the event.
Rethinking Campus Life
In addition to the academic program, the festival served as a lively gathering place on campus. The cafeteria was transformed into a “market of opportunities” where local initiatives in the fields of social welfare, culture, and sustainability presented their projects. Musical performances by student bands and an open-air movie screening rounded out the experience. Particular emphasis was placed on the participants’ engagement; they described the event as “a unique opportunity to gain new perspectives and make connections.” The university plans to establish the festival as a permanent fixture of campus life in the future.
