Classical musicians struggle to understand complex harmonic analysis in modern compositions

Musicians and music students encounter difficulty interpreting the tonal structure and harmonic language of 20th-century classical works like Prokofiev's sonatas, where traditional music theory rules don't apply cleanly. Current music education resources and textbooks focus primarily on tonal harmony, leaving performers and analysts without clear frameworks to understand atonal or polytonal passages. This creates frustration when preparing performances or academic analysis, as existing explanations are either too vague or require consulting multiple obscure sources.