Florian Just is praised for his text clarity, expressiveness and sound culture (Komische Oper Berlin), his warm, versatile and elegant baritone (CD Éternelle Dualité), lustrous timbre and vocal plasticity (Teatro Colon/Buenos Aires).
He can regularly be heard as a soloist in Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium (Staatskapelle Dresden, Concertgebouw Kamerorkest), his Passions (Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Gelders Orkest, Northern Consort), Mahler's Songs (De Philharmonie, Ebony Ensemble), Brahms‘ Requiem and Orffs Carmina Burana. He sang the lead roles in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (Holland Opera), Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (Music Theatre Transparent), Subotniks Jacob's Room (Bregenzer Festspiele), Xenakis’ Oresteia and Aïs (Teatro Colon/Buenos Aires and Teatro Argentino/La Plata) and was heard as Enrico in Haydn's L'isola disabitata (Grachtenfestival), as Micha in Dvorak's Bride for sale (Nederlandse Reisopera) and sang at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam's Saturday matinee in Berg's Wozzeck and Strauss’ Electricity. He has worked with conductors such as Frieder Bernius, Jos van Veldhoven, Markus Stenz, Ed Spanjaard, Reinbert de Leeuw, Klaas Stok, Vaclav Lúks, Peter Dijkstra, Arturo Tamayo and Alejo Peres.
Florian Just won both the Vriendenkrans and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam press prize and the Schubert prize at the ‘Schubert und die Musik der Moderne’ competition in Graz.
In 2016, in collaboration with pianist Jan-Paul Grijpink, he released his debut CD, praised by the international press Monologue. October 2022 saw the release of his widely acclaimed 2nd CD Éternelle Dualité featuring French-language songs accompanied by piano, flute and cello.
Karolina Hartman, mezzo-soprano
Florian Just, baritone
Maurice Lammerts van Bueren, piano
n.n., narrator
A special concert around composer, pianist and conductor Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927) with two singers, a pianist and a narrator. Letters, notes, reviews and, of course, music, paint a picture of Stenhammar's life and work and musical life in Sweden around 1900. In addition to compositions by Stenhammar, songs by Alfvén, Peterson-Berger and Rangström can be heard. Karolina Hartman performs this programme together with baritone Florian Just, pianist Maurice Lammerts van Bueren.
Florian Just, baritone
Jan-Paul Grijpink, piano
If during the journey you feel that Der Wegweiser the song is from where no return is possible, then Der Leiermann the end. But when you get to Mut real conviction, then the possibilities are open again to arrive somewhere else. There is no ultimate interpretation, not from a singer of just twenty and not from someone who at seventy can still touch you deeply with his Winterreise. All that matters is that you really go through that journey and take the audience through all the subtle nuances and make them feel, that they too have gone through this journey.
Florian Just sings the cycle in German and just as sweetly in Dutch. He says: ‘Frederik Menning has made a masterful translation. As a German-speaking musician, I recognise all the nuances, which I need for my interpretation. One or the other has to get used to, but in the process also opens up new possibilities and gives a new perspective on this cycle that is so familiar to me. Sometimes it even goes so far that the translation only makes me realise that different, even opposite interpretations of important phrases are possible. A fantastic challenge for me and an exceptional experience for the Dutch-speaking audience.’
Florian Just, baritone
Jan-Paul Grijpink, piano
By many, and, according to Florian Just, unfairly Die schöne Müllerin seen as Winterreise's little brother. It is, as it were, an equal Sommerreise, where flowers bloom and birds chirp merrily. Where nature in Winterreise from the outset does everything possible to underline despair, she stands in Die schöne Müllerin for happiness and love. Until disaster strikes and she, like a mother, tries to relieve suffering and offer comfort. An earthly cycle full of genuine love and heartbreaking grief.
This cycle too - like Winterreise - can be performed in Frederik Menning's Dutch version.
Florian Just, baritone
Jan-Paul Grijpink, piano
n.n., narrator
Brahms‘ Die schöne Magelone! A fireworks display of passion, the exuberant romance of a hero working against all
adversity in his happiness in his own hands. In order to find his lost lover again. The
story emerging from the collection One thousand and one nights comes, is because of Brahms’ powerful musical language and Tieks’
fairy-tale style an experience of joie de vivre and courage. Challenging for both singer and pianist and
narrator, this cycle is a musical-theatrical peculiarity to listen to and enjoy.
Around 1800 Ludwig Tieck rewrote the old story about Die schöne Magelone into a book with 18 chapters
each containing a poem. Brahms set 15 of these poems to music and published them as Romanzen aus Ludwig
Tieck's Magelone für eine Singstimme und Pianoforte opus 33.
Florian Just, baritone
Jan-Paul Grijpink, piano
A collection of songs and song cycles around the big questions of life that everyone has to fight out with themselves. It does so in a way that swings from blood-serious to humorous. With works from Schubert to Ives and Barber. Famous poets like Goethe, Hölderlin and Robert Browning address us directly through this music, but also much less famous ones like Georg Philip Schmidt, whom we had never heard of but who wrote the famous line ‘Dort wo du nicht bist, dort ist das Glück. The also already world-famous bass Fédor Chaliapine would star and sing in a Don Quixote film by Austrian director Georg Wilhelm Pabst. He asked both Ravel and Ibert to write a Don Quixote à Dulcinée writing. That he had also asked the other, neither of them knew. He chose Ibert, who did not like it when he understood. In this concert, you may judge again, as they will both be performed.
Read the programme with notes here >
Listen to Chansons à Boire By Ravel by Florian Just and Jan-Paul Grijpink >
Listen to Wer nie sien Brot mit Tranen ass By Schubert by Florian Just and Jan-Paul Grijpink >
Florian Just, baritone
Jan-Paul Grijpink, piano
Goethe's echo is a musical journey through great Poetry. Goethe was one of the greatest German poets and thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries. A symbol of the Sturm und Drang movement, he influenced, inspired and shaped generations of artists during his lifetime and far beyond. His more than three thousand poems are renowned worldwide and belong to the most important part of German-language literature. Lyricism was not a dead art for Goethe, and he believed his poems should always be recited or sung. But Goethe was very stubborn when it came to the display of his poems. An accompaniment had to be sober and simple and not disturb the word. Schubert sent his opus 1, Erlkönig, to Goethe but it was sent back to him without comment. He much preferred the versions by Reichardt and Zelter. Almost incomprehensible from our current perspective but characteristic of this proud grand master of the word. We show in our concert, how Goethe's poems inspired composers around and after him to write true masterpieces. With or without Goethe's approval.
Prefer to judge for yourself.
See the programme and song lyrics >
Ellen Valkenburg, soprano
Florian Just, baritone
Maurice Lammerts van Bueren, piano
‘Auch kleine Dinge können uns entzücken.’ With these slightly ironic words, Wolf begins his impressive cycle of short songs set to translations of Tuscan rispetti: Das Italienische Liederbuch.
These masterpieces on scale - some songs last less than a minute - are all about love, and in far from all cases that equals sweet romance ... Everyday street scenes are interspersed with desperate cries of longing, jealous bickering and brisk rejections. Also, a serenade in love sometimes turns out to sound quite false and the ladies not infrequently have their trousers on.
Ellen Valkenburg, Florian Just and Maurice Lammerts van Bueren select the most beautiful songs from this level musical soap opera and string them together in a dazzling scenic performance. Complementing this mini opera are beautiful French and German duets by Mozart, Mendelssohn, Fauré and Berlioz, among others. The concert concludes with an out-of-the-box encore.
Click here for the programme >
