Starting in 1828, he published a number of his own compositions under the name 'J. Hoven', or later 'Johann van Hoven'. many of which - like the rest of his oeuvre - were contributions to the lyric vocal repertoire; over 100 of his songs were settings of Heinrich Heine. In total he composed over 330 lieder, notably the Ironischen Lieder; six operas, including Turandot (1838) and Jeanne d'Arc (1840); and about twenty quartets, in both sacred and secular settings. Among his contacts were numbered Robert and Clara Schumann, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Carl Loewe, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Felix Mendelssohn and Otto Nicolai.
