From 1977 to 1985 he was the president of the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Johannesen was best known for performances of works by French composers, including Gabriel Faur_, whose complete piano works Johannesen recorded. His interpretations of works by Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud were also admired.
One of his last projects was a piano suite called Mormoniana, which he arranged from compositions by 16 composers with roots in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.