While beginning his composition career with lighthearted melodies from his Flemish youth, Jef Van Hoof later abandoned his upbeat and cheerful style in the face of a world at war. Writing his second symphony during the height of conflict in Western Europe, he inscribed at the front of his manuscript, "the whole world has gone - wiped from the face of the earth."
Tune in Thursday to hear Van Hoof's Second Symphony performed by the VRT Philharmonic.
Listen to it on Of Note with Katy Henriksen.