A Review of The Music of Ben Johnston by Heidi Von Gunden

The author finds Von Gunden’s research on this influential composer to be unusually thorough, citing the wealth of detail the book contains on the factors that have influenced Johnston’s work. The book describes both spiritual influences and the effects of Johnston’s exposure to other experimental composers. The author goes on to praise Von Gunden’s open-minded attitude towards Johnston’s early compositions. While acknowledging the difficulty of writing about a colleague, he suggests that Von Gunden’s discussion of certain major works could have provided a more extensive evaluation of their importance.