Towards a Harmonic Grammar of Grieg's Late Piano Music

Edvard Grieg was enchanted by what he styled the ‘dreamworld’ of harmony, a magical realm whose principles the composer felt remained a mystery even to himself, and he was not alone in that the complex nature of late-Romantic harmony has proved a source of debate up to the present day. Grieg’s later piano music forms a particularly profitable repertoire for focusing current concerns over the nature of tonality and tonal harmony. Building both on historical theories and more recent developments, this study develops new models for understanding the complexity of late-Romantic tonal practice and offers a corrective to views of Grieg as a figure situated on the nationalist musical periphery.