[1] The discriminating ear that makes Van Dijk's orchestral music at once beguiling and immediately recognisable as a personal expression is also to be discerned on the smaller sound-scale of his chamber compositions.

And one of Van Dijk's most notable characteristics - a purposeful firmness of the bass line - imbues his music in all genres with an unfailing sense of logical and expressive direction, even in the context of a highly inflected harmonic chromaticism.

What can be said is that he has, with unusual success, blended an emotional intensity at times evocative of the world of Austro-German expressionism with a fascinating subtlety and indirectness of utterance suggestive rather of French affinities.

For Van Dijk is no follower of systems, but rather a creator with the richly endowed imagination of a poet, a thinker, and a voracious reader to bring to expression, and the single mindedness needed to realise that aim.

From the age of 18, Van Dijk continued as a full-time student at the conservatory studying piano with Leon Orthel, oboe with Jaap Stotijn, and composition and analysis with Hendrik Andriessen.

On a regular basis in the 1950s and 60's, Van Dijk not only composed background music for educational programmes but used his improvisational skills as a pianist live on radio for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Its premiere took place in The Netherlands at the Philharmonie Haarlem with the Boy's choir of St. Bavo Cathedral, Groot Omroepkoor, and the Symfonieorkest Haerlem for Dutch radio broadcast conducted by Jan Stulen.

At this time, his composition Immobile Eden (1972), set to the composer's own text written for the Toronto Lyric Arts Trio, was first performed on National Public Radio in New York City in November 1975.

[15] Highlights of the 1978-79 season of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra include the world premiere of Van Dijk's The Shadowmaker (1977) [16] under the direction of Mario Bernardi [17] and featuring Canadian baritone Victor Braun.

"[20] As Dutch musicologist Maarten Brandt writes, "The bold and expressionistic side of Berg and Schoenberg is found in van Dijk’s The Shadowmaker for baritone and large orchestra, written in 1977.

Yet, as in every single composition by van Dijk, tonal references are present here as well, demonstrating a kinship not only with Berg, but also with Britten, Henze, Tippett and Martin; all of them composers who have not simply exploited the resources available to them, but rather were grateful ‘inhabitants’ of a rich and saturated musical landscape.

The World premiere of his Violin Concerto (1984) would later be given on September 20, 1991, by the Polish violinist Robert Szreder with the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jan Stulen in the Grote Kerk, Terneuzen as part of the Zeeuws Vlaanderen Festival.

[33] In 2000, classical Indian Bharatanatyam dancer Mayuri Boonham [34] commissioned Van Dijk The Triple Hymn based on a mantra from the Vedic literature to be performed on a UK tour and at the Spring Loaded Festival at the Place Theatre in London.

As part of the International Chamber Music Series 2001 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam,[36] Hyperion records artists the Florestan Trio[37] performed Van Dijk's Piano Trio (2001) which they especially commissioned for the Florestan Festival of Peasmarsh in East Sussex.In 2002, Van Dijk was commissioned by the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker to write a large-scale work for baritone, full choir and orchestra to commemorate the German/Dutch pianist Karlrobert Kreiten.

Kreiten's life and career were tragically cut short when a Nazi neighbour reported him to the Gestapo for making negative remarks about Adolf Hitler and the war effort.