"Do You Like Brahms?" drama: Episodes 29 and 30 recap

 Air Dates: August 31st until October 20, 2020  Monday and Tuesdays at 10:00 pm on SBS

Ratings for these two episodes, 3.9and 5.6%

Main Cast: The college referred to is Seoryeong University, a very prestigious music school though it does have many other programs.

Park Eun-Bin as Chae Song-Ah.... 'Chae' sounds quite a bit like the Korean word for sorry and she constantly has to tell others it's her real name. Song-Ah is 29 and graduated from the university at 22 with a business degree. However she hasn't had a steady job since then as her first love was playing the violin. After four attempts she was finally accepted into the school's musical program, she's finished three years yet is still not a very accomplished player.

Kim Min-Jae as Park Joon-Young.... He's an award winning pianist and the same age as 
Song-Ah. He too graduated from Seoryeong University and for many years has been touring the world performing concerts. He's a very respected pianist yet has returned to the university for their graduate program but see no reason why.

Lee You-Jin as Yoon Dong-Yun.... Friend of Song-Ah's and went out briefly with Min-Seong. We didn't see him in this first episode as he was in Italy but has just returned in this show. He owns a violin shop though doesn't play much these days.

Bae Da-Bin as Kang Min-Seong.... Song-Ah's best friend who is going to the same college, she's getting her Masters in Chemistry.

Park Ji-Hyun as Lee Jung-Kyung.... She's just returned from America where she tried so hard to become a professor of music at some colleges but failed. She's a violinist whose mother died when she was fourteen, she had dated Hyun-Ho for ten years though she secretly wished to be with Joog-Young.

Kim Seong Cheol as Han Hyun-Ho.... He too has just returned from America and is a talented cello player. He's best friends with Joon-Young and has been dating Jung-Kyung but he's more serious about their relationship than she is.

Lee Ji-Won as Kim Ha-Nae....Also a violinist who is seven years younger than Song-Ah but both have just started at a Summer internship for the Kyunghoo Foundation.

Seo Jung-Yeon as Cha Young-In.... Manager of Song-Ah and Ha-Nae at the foundation.

Choi Dae-Hoon as Park Sung-Jae.... Employee at the foundation. But in episode twelve he quit to become Joon-Young's Korean manager for his American agency.

Ahn Sang-Ein as Jung Da-Woon..... Another foundation employee

Ye Soo-Young as Na Moon-Sook.... Director of the Kyunghoo Foundation and whose daughter died in 2006 who was the mother of Jung-Kyung.

Yoon Chan-Young as Seung Ji-Min.... Very talented younger popular pianist.

Baek Ji-Won as Professor Lee.... Song-Ah's professor who is pushing her to enter the graduate program but is more interested in who she knows than Song-Ah's music.

Joo Suk-Tae as Yoo Tae-Jin.... Joon-Young's music teacher from the ages of 14 to 22. Their relationship was a bit rocky but the pair are now working together again.

  
  The ratings above are for the entire nation, have noticed they've always been higher in Seoul. Figured it would be the other way around but that's the case for most shows, with so many more things to do in Seoul wonder why the % is usually higher? But the viewership did go up from the last pair of shows by over 50,000 to 985,000. It's too late to do it for this series but in future ones what I'm going to do is post the links to previous recaps. Think that would make it so much easier instead of scrolling through so many posts to find a certain show and never thought about it until recently. Will start up with that on the "Start-Up" drama which is the current series I'm viewing. Haven't viewed the final two shows yet and won't until this is written up. Do have a few ideas on what may take place to wrap this series up but not positive any of them will occur.

 Bit of an uplifting final ten minutes but life still wasn't working out well for a pair of major characters. They are however for Song-Ah after a miserable stretch who was the main reason for that uplifting ending, will get to her later but first let's begin off with Joon-Young and his stardom has really fallen. Sure you read the above recap so you know what took place with his professor Yoo and wish he had shown a bit more spunk when he confronted him with the stolen recording proof. Yoo never did apologize and he just may skate out of it unscathed. But Joon-Young did can him for being his aide for the upcoming Tchaikovsky competition and so little has been said on that recently, wonder if he still has plans to enter it?

 That's a good question as the main reason for Joon-Young entering the competition is that he's sorely in need of money. Though he was such a popular performer for seven years he began his sabbatical with less than $4,000 in the bank and his new Korean manager Park hasn't been able to secure any high paying gigs for him. But brought that question up about the competition as Joon-Young dropped a huge bombshell in this first show which is that.... he wants to quit playing the piano immediately! What I've been noticing for so long, perhaps almost the entire series, is that Joon-Young often isn't a happy person playing he piano. He may have been when he started out twenty years ago but the thrill left many years ago and the main reasons for his continuation of playing was to pay back Jung-Kyung and her grandmother for all the help they've given him. Also to bail his parents out as his father, who we've never met, has failed at one business venture after another.

 Joon-Young was scheduled to play in a trio for the upcoming 15th anniversary of the Kyunghoo Foundation but that exploded many shows ago. The office director for the foundation Cha then asked if he would be willing to play a solo concert at the event which Joon-Young agreed to, the time period in the drama is now November with the event scheduled for December. Cha has been the person he's been able to confide in more than anyone else over the years but Joon-Young couldn't bring himself to tell her about his quitting the piano, perhaps that'll be his farewell performance? Joon-Young has only revealed his plan to one person who was surprisingly Jung-Kyung and for the 11th time met with her saying they'll never see each other again. But of course what's dragging Joon-Young's life down more than anything was Song-Ah breaking up with him, I put the blame squarely on him.

 As you can tell by the above screenshots a major tragedy took place and one that affected many people. The founder and chairman of the Kyunghoo Foundation Na passed away and the last person who may have spoken to her was Song-Ah, it was the first time they had ever had a conversation. Though they didn't always see eye to eye her passing was such a blow to Jung-Kyung as Na had raised her after her mother had died at the age of fourteen. Jung-Kyung's father is still alive and lives in the same household but he's a character we never saw much of. Her funeral was such a sad occasion as Na had helped so many aspiring musicians out including the above pair. That's Hyun-Ho on the right and he had some terrific news to end the previous recap off as he was invited to be a cellist in the NYC Symphony Orchestra. That's where he's been for a few weeks and when he met Joon-Young at the funeral it may have been the first time they've spoken in months. 

 Both did have an uncomfortable time when they had to give their condolences to Jung-Kyung, the trio had been quite close for fourteen years but now are so estranged. Jung-Kyung was the one to break up with Hyun-Ho but secretly have felt she wants him to come back, to his credit Hyun-Ho for now wants nothing to do with her. We didn't see Jung-Kyung again after the funeral and what's to become of her?  She's withdrawn her application to become a professor at Seoryeong University and has no future it seems in music. In a very odd moment when Jung-Kyung sent the e-mail withdrawing her application a bow on her violin snapped, have a feeling at that time is when her grandmother Na passed away. Really the only option left for her is to become the director of the Kyunghoo Foundation.

**** A prediction or two which I bet will be wrong. But now that Jung-Kyung and Hyun-Ho are no longer going to be a professor at the university who could it be? Though he never applied kind of have a feeling being a professor is where Joon-Young's future lies. We'll see how that works out but Na had always wanted Joon-Young to become the main director at the foundation.

 On to Song-Ah who hasn't been mentioned that often and she'll be the focus for the remainder of the recap. Of course you all know that she was the one that broke it off with Joon-Young and she's said the breakup hasn't hurt as much as she thought but deep down she is in pain. Though Song-Ah has been so down in the dumps for a while now she's finally shed her 'meekish ways' and is thinking of herself first instead of obeying others. Song-Ah did quit being her professor Lee's assistant for the upcoming chamber orchestra concert once Song-Ah learned she wouldn't be playing in it and was so glad she did. Also on the positive side is that Song-Ah has now reunited with her two best friends Min-Seong and

Dong-Yun, they've been seeing each other lately but will they ever be as close?

 Another bombshell was dropped about quitting music and this time it was Song-Ah's declaration. Think she realizes that she'll never have much of a future playing the violin, it's true she has improved over the years but will never reach the level of those who have played much longer. Song-Ah is 29 in age and does have a degree in Business from the university, wonder if she has what it takes to be a professor? Song-Ah has revealed her intentions of quitting the violin to Cha and that woman does have such a calming influence which is why so many confide in her. However there's one goal Song-Ah wants to accomplish before giving up the violin and that's to pass the entrance exam for the graduate music program at Seoryeong University. 

 May be difficult as one of the judges is her ex-professor Lee who in a practice exam only gave her a grade of 50 out of a hundred. Joon-Young was going to accompany her at the recital for the graduate exam but with their breakup she got someone else. The date of Na's funeral was the same as the exam, right after the funeral Song-Ah would have to rush off to play. The pair met up briefly at the occasion and she told Joon-Young she had switched her piece from a Franck sonata to "Scherzo" by Brahms. In the second episode Joon-Young had told Song-Ah he hated playing Brahms, it mainly had to do because Brahms was such a favorite of Jung-Kyung's deceased mother. But during the encounter 

Joon-Young told Song-Ah he wanted to pay at the recital, he does like Brahms deep down and does know the piece well. So that's how the show will end off and the pair had no time to rehearse.

 When I said in the beginning it was an uplifting finale it was as for the first time in a while I was smiling during a scene. The recital was open to others besides the judges, Song-Ah's family was there along with Min-Seong and Dong-Jun, that pair may be going out together again soon. What a performance it was as Song-Ah had never played better and she was so confident going into the recital. The pair were really in sync which was so impressive seeing as how they didn't have time to rehearse. Don't know what the results were from the panel but would have to think that Song-Ah passed with flying colors, wonder if she'll have second thoughts about quitting after that performance? In a nice lead up for the final two shows in the last minute of the episode the pair were in the dressing room. Song-Ah still had no intentions of rekindling their romance but in the final seconds Joon-Young finally showed some nerve as he blurted out to her, 'I Love You'. Guess with an ending such as that we may have an idea on how this series may conclude but hope everything doesn't end up too neatly.

 Nothing much more to add in as I have been giving more personal opinions in these recaps and as mentioned haven't viewed the final two shows yet. That'll be the next post and it is a bit sad when a drama ends, this has been a fine one but not a must watch show. But then again the pace has always been a fast one and there's rarely been a dull or uninteresting moment, as usual have a slew of screenshots to help you follow the story a bit better.