Very Precise Relationships: Two Interviews with Ben Johnston

By Sibyl Johnston


In 1981, I interviewed my father, Ben Johnston, for Century 2, the student journal I then edited. It was a little daunting since I'm not a musician. So I consulted him about how to frame the most fundamental questions that it would be possible to ask on the subject. We wanted to talk about the nature and meaning of music itself and his music in particular. Until now that interview, published under the title "A Sacred Cow should be Trounced at least once a Day," never made it past the pages of that limited-circulation journal.