Four Hands, Two Sonatas

Unique

Writing this review with not even knowing the complete drama , is a bit much.
But the first episode really grabbed my attention.

Lee Jun Young. Once again proved why he is such a good actor.. i have not seen many korean actors , especially male actors who can play so many different type of characters. He hasn't dropped the ball yet . I have watched a few of his dramas and i really think he needs more hype, in fact i really hope other directors see the Gold this man has to offer..

On the opposite side I usually see Song in the same type of character vibe... i really would like to see him in something completely out of his normal characters. He plays the serious and mysterious characters so well , but just to break away from those types of roles and be a bit more eccentric.

Over all i am impressed with this kdrama , i honestly had a deep fear of it Being a BL , just because lee yun is someone you can romanticise 🤣 so thank goodness for that. But over all emotions, intensity and captivating experience all around.

The drama was well rounded and it also did well maintaining the plot. It ended very well , with most loose ends tied .

Over all it was a fine kdrama 👍

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If It Walks Like a Duck

The series opens with a poorly executed in medias res: within minutes, we are shown an apparent death, only for the story to retreat into flashbacks layered inside other flashbacks. The result is not complexity, but confusion. Eventually, you find yourself looking at a character without knowing which timeline you are in, whether he is still alive, whether you are watching a memory, or when any of this is actually happening.

The tonal incompatibility makes things worse. You cannot open with an apparent murder and, fifteen minutes later, expect everyday problems at a music school to carry the same dramatic weight. The tension the opening worked so hard to create simply evaporates.

What initially looks like a story about talent, competition, privilege, and the world of classical music quickly becomes the usual blender of family hierarchies, an authoritarian grandfather, parental debt, loan sharks, humiliation, romance, trauma, and melodrama. The piano, meanwhile, is almost incidental.

And that is particularly frustrating because there is a much better story hiding underneath all of this: two exceptionally talented young men, one with every resource available to develop his potential, and another who cannot afford the luxury of pursuing his talent because he actually has to make a living. That conflict alone could have carried the series.

Instead of exploring it, the drama keeps adding complications.

If I need a flowchart and a notebook just to figure out which timeline I'm watching, the writer has failed at one of the most fundamental rules of storytelling: clarity.

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A story about music, friendships, and rivalries

This drama has had an excellent start. Ever since I heard it was premiering, it's been the one I've been most looking forward to (plus, the finale airs on my birthday, how exciting!). As a pianist, this series really appealed to me. So far, it's going well, and I hope it continues this way. I like that it doesn't focus on a love triangle, but rather on friendship instead of romance. Another point I liked is how it focused on the family situations of our protagonists and how they struggle day after day; it's very realistic, and that contemporary touch definitely gives the drama a great style. The actors were fantastic, and Jang Gyu-ri was undoubtedly the funniest with her character's energy. So I have high expectations and hope it continues like this. 🎹

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That girl ruined the whole series, she's unbearable and unnecessary

Honestly, the series had everything going for it, but they ruined the story. The participation of that actress kissing one of the protagonists was ridiculous... that disgusting woman... I felt angry throughout the entire series Because of her, she was unbearable and tried to force herself on the protagonist, which was ridiculous, she was a cow. Most people who also watched the series agree with me; it ruined the whole story. It had everything to be one of the best series, but then But after seeing that disgusting kiss during a vulnerable moment for the protagonist, I completely lost interest in finishing the series, but I still finished it anyway. You should let romance happen next time; nobody chooses to be attracted to a particular gender. Put your prejudices aside and stop caring about other people's prejudiced opinions. You all know perfectly well what's right and what's wrong, and if you disagree, that's your problem. I'm upset about that bitch's participation.

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Come for the actors/story, stay for the music!!!

What happens when success is defined by an external scale and being number one is necessary to feel validated? What happens to relationships, and what are you willing to do when your measure of success is threatened? These and other questions are explored and undulate as the characters perform and compete, like the Danse Macabre that musically underscores Four Hands, Two Sonatas.

A Musical Genius with trauma re-encounters a Musical Technician who can't measure up. Friendship, joy, jealousy, vengeance, regret—all these and more are explored in a rich and sonorous world filled with musical beauty and emotional complexity. Wonderfully told with an expert cast and fully realized characters. A delight to enjoy on repeat.

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BL or Bromance? Depends on your POV!

Honestly speaking, I randomly came across the trailer of this K-Drama and thought of giving it a chance. Nowadays, I've been way too invested in BL/GL dramas or C-dramas, so I decided to take a break and go back to watching my sweet K-dramas ^-^

Coming to the trailer, I got fascinated by it; it made me curious enough to actually wait for its episodes, yk! Now, starting from episode 1, it started pretty nicely; it made me crave more in a sense! Like, a few minutes of each episode will legit make you question so many things, but at the same time it requires you to be patient for the plot to unfold slowly, and as I watched each and every episode, I got to understand the complex emotions of each of the characters, including the two main leads.

Each and every character in this series has some secrets or backstories that have made them act or behave in a certain way towards the other characters! The two main leads, played by the actors Song Kang & Lee Jun-Young, have incredible chemistry with each other; their body language and actions towards each other speak volumes — both of them being childhood friends then turned into rivals also, they switch from being enemies to rivals to partners to friends like it happens every minute and though it's kinda frustrating enough as a watcher, still I can't find the heart to blame the leads for the way things are unfolding, it can't be helped after all T-T

No offence, but I can relate to Kang Pi-o a lot, like seeking validation from the one you admire the most and then seeing someone else get to live that life. It is hurtful indeed; thus, I do find myself loving this character more than the second main lead, though both leads have sad backstories. Still, Pi-o's family is quite problematic now that I think about it.

Moving on, this k-drama is completely based on music & piano though these kind of dramas have never been my cup of tea still I am quite drawn to this one especially coz of the music, plot and its visuals, ofc the face cards of all the actors are lethal and not to mention, I like the FL a lot like she feels like a supportive friend rather than a love interest and I prefer they keep it that way till the end! This drama does have quite a load, or I should say a bunch of moments, which made me think, 'Heck! They are in love' or 'This is a BL for sure! It has to be,' but some moments also felt like cute bromance or just pure friendship between two lost souls, aka broken pianists tormented by the greedy world they live in ~ It entirely depends on how you choose to see it altogether.

I have seen the first four episodes, and currently a theory is in my mind, taking into account the first few minutes of each episode, especially Episode 1 — What if Kang Pi-o and his mother planned to kill Jeong-yo on the day of the competition because Jeong-yo was more talented than Pi-o, and they wanted to make sure Pi-o won? I mean, I can understand if Pi-o's mother did it, but Pi-o??? Would he actually go so far just to get his Grandfather's validation? Like, I don't know, but I just hope in the end both the leads stay good friends and get the ending they both deserve! Like, both becoming famous worldwide pianists <3

P.S. Extremely excited for episodes 5 & 6 hehe UwU

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Como um melodrama deve ser

Sinceramente, Quatro Mãos, Duas Sonatas não me animou muito quando foi anunciado, mas, logo no primeiro episódio, a premissa de dois jovens garotos dividindo o mesmo piano me conquistou. O enredo, que vai ficando cada vez mais denso e psicológico, me fez querer desesperadamente mais nesses últimos episódios, enquanto, nos primeiros, a imaturidade e a relação tão juvenil entre os personagens faziam meu coração transbordar.

Song Kang e Lee Junyoung deram um show de atuação, a química era absurda e a forma como a direção me puxava para dentro daquele universo me deixava completamente em êxtase. Foi uma história que conseguiu me envolver de diferentes formas ao longo dos episódios e, sem dúvida, se tornou um dos melodramas que mais me emocionaram até hoje.

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Prima di entrare nel dettaglio di Four hands, two sonatas, è necessaria una piccola precisazione. La serie è stata ufficialmente presentata come un bromance incentrato sull’amicizia e sulla musica. E c’è di più: nei primi poster ufficiali e nei teaser iniziali la protagonista femminile era completamente assente (personaggio femminile il cui ruolo all’intero drama non è poi così centrale per lo sviluppo della trama). Tutto si concentrava solamente sui due protagonisti maschili e il pianoforte, tanto che era facile pensare che il drama potesse essere un vero e proprio boys’ love.
Un’interpretazione che, a ben vedere, non è poi così campata in aria. È stata, infatti, la stessa sceneggiatrice Shin Yi-won a confermare che la storia era nata proprio come un progetto boys’ love, ispirato all’idea di un amore tormentato fra due artisti, proprio come se Mozart e Salieri fossero amanti.
Non è la prima volta che viene presentato un progetto in modo da attirare un determinato tipo di pubblico, senza poi avere il coraggio di portare fino in fondo quella stessa promessa narrativa.
Nonostante questo, Four hands, two sonatas, presente su Netflix con i sottotitoli in italiano, è un drama che merita la visione, soprattutto se amate la musica classica.

La storia racconta di due giovani pianisti e del loro modo profondamente diverso di vivere la musica: Pi-o suona con una minuziosa precisione tecnica, mentre Jeong-yo si fa trasportare delle note e delle emozioni. Loro vorrebbero semplicemente divertirsi suonando insieme, ma il mondo che li circonda finirà per trasformarli in rivali.
Il drama sembra ricalcare la struttura formale del primo movimento di una sonata classica, basata sulla cosiddetta forma-sonata.
Dopo un’introduzione, che si prende il suo tempo per presentarci personaggi e situazioni, il drama entra nel vivo con l’esposizione: il ritmo diventa più vivace e assistiamo alla nascita del legame tra i due ragazzi e alla loro sintonia al pianoforte.
Nella parte centrale troviamo lo sviluppo: la tensione cresce, l’equilibrio iniziale si rompe e conflitti e segreti vengono progressivamente portati alla luce, proprio come i temi musicali vengono elaborati e trasformati durante questa sezione.
Infine, proprio come la prassi musicale prevede, arriva la ripresa: i temi iniziali tornano, ma non sono più gli stessi.
Four hands, two sonatas è in tutto e per tutto una vera e propria storia d’amore. Non quella classica che siamo abituati a vedere nei drama, ma una di quelle che non ha bisogno di fatti concreti per essere descritta. È una storia d’amore per la musica, ma soprattutto d’amore fra due persone che si cercano costantemente e che non possono fare a meno l’una dell’altra perché solo quando sono assieme si sentono complete. Perché, dopotutto, anche questo è un tipo di amore.

Gli attori protagonisti Song Kang e Lee Jun-young sono stati straordinari.
Molto interessanti sono alcune interviste in cui i due attori ci hanno raccontato come si sono preparati per questo ruolo. Conosciamo ormai la perseveranza e la minuziosità di Song Kang che già in passato ci aveva ammaliati: come per Navillera, quando aveva preso lezioni di danza, anche per interpretare Pi-o ha frequentato lezioni di pianoforte.
Lee Jun-young, che aveva meno tempo a disposizione per prepararsi al ruolo, ha meticolosamente studiato alcuni video con i brani che avrebbe dovuto interpretare nella serie, cercando di memorizzare la postura e i movimenti delle mani del pianista. È stato proprio quest’ultimo a svelare un retroscena molto simpatico: dovendo suonare a quattro mani, i due attori condividevano lo stesso panchetto; Song Kang ha delle spalle molto larghe, per cui a Lee Jun-young non rimaneva poi così tanto spazio, tuttavia stare così vicini era quasi piacevole durante le riprese invernali, grazie al tepore emanato dal collega!
Song Kang e Lee Jun-young sono riusciti a raccontarci un rapporto costruito sulla fiducia e sull’amore per la musica che viene sgretolato a causa di fattori esterni troppo più grandi di loro. Eppure il loro affetto rimane presente per tutta la durata della serie, anche nei momenti in cui sembra prevalere l’odio e la rabbia. È qualcosa che passa attraverso gli sguardi, i sorridi dei personaggi, ma anche da alcune parole.
E poi c’è la loro chimica costantemente palpabile. Una chimica che in alcuni momenti arriva quasi a sfiorare una tensione sessuale, nonostante questa non sia la storia giusta in cui dovrebbe essere percepibile.

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Ma hype était énorme… ma déception aussi...

Bon, je vais pas mentir, j’ai lancé "Four Hands, Two Sonatas" avant tout pour son casting !!! N’allez pas croire que je l’ai lancé pour la musique classique… 🤭 J’étais surtout curieuse de voir ce que le duo Song Kang et Jun allait donner à l’écran, et c’est clairement ce qui a décidé mon choix. J’assume !!! 😅

Bref, ici, on embarque dans une prestigieuse école de musique où deux jeunes pianistes que tout oppose vont se retrouver sur la même partition… 🎼 Mais cette rencontre va-t-elle donner naissance à une belle harmonie ou quelques fausses notes vont-elles venir compliquer les choses ?!? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Comme je l’ai dit, je suis venue pour ce duo, j’étais surtout là pour voir une "bromance" entre Pi-o et Jeong-yo. Sauf que… je suis restée sur ma faim 🥲. Avec toute la hype que j’avais vue autour du drama sur les réseaux, je m’attendais vraiment à un truc marquant, le genre à me faire passer par toutes les émotions... Au final, j’ai trouvé que le drama misait beaucoup trop sur les tensions, la jalousie, les malentendus et les séparations, et pas assez sur leur complicité 😔

Alors oui, j’ai compris leurs blessures et ce qui les empêchait d’avancer, pas de souci. Mais j’aurais préféré voir une vraie confiance se construire entre eux, avec une évolution qui rende leur lien unique... Parce que franchement, des personnages qui souffrent, qui se repoussent et qui finissent par se retrouver, j’en ai déjà vu. Ce que je voulais, c’était ressentir cette fameuse connexion entre eux !!! 😮‍💨

Attention, leur évolution comporte quand même des moments touchants, mais je n’ai pas été aussi bouleversée que je l’espérais 🤷🏼‍♀️. C’est dommage, parce que le duo avait du potentiel... Pourtant, je suis restée à chercher ce qui rendait leur relation si fascinante pour autant de monde. J’ai vu des "bromances" mille fois mieux construites et bien plus touchantes, même dans des dramas où ce n’était pas le sujet principal… et sans avoir besoin de sortir les violons à chaque épisode !!! 🎻🤣

Et puis, certaines réactions de Pi-o m’ont laissée perplexe... 🤔 Un coup, il semble vouloir se rapprocher de Jeong-yo, puis il se braque, devient jaloux et finit par le repousser. Je comprends que ses blessures et ses insécurités jouent sur son comportement, mais ça ne veut pas dire que j’ai adhéré à toutes ses réactions. À certains moments, j’avais surtout envie de lui dire : "Bon, tu sais ce que tu veux ou on ça va continuer comme ça pendant douze épisodes ?!?" 😂

Le pire, c’est que le concept fonctionnait vraiment bien sur le papier... Deux garçons aux personnalités et aux parcours différents, qui trouvent dans la musique un langage commun. Bref, le piano était censé leur permettre de se comprendre là où les mots échouaient. Franchement, il y avait de quoi faire !!! 🎹

J’aurais aimé les voir apprendre à se connaître, se faire confiance, se soutenir et grandir ensemble... Je voulais des moments de complicité, des petits gestes qui montrent qu’ils compte l’un pour l’autre… 🥹 Mais au lieu de ça, j’ai eu l’impression que le scénario trouvait toujours un moyen de leur mettre des bâtons dans les roues. À force de les voir souffrir et s’éloigner, j’ai fini par attendre cette fameuse "bromance" sans jamais vraiment la ressentir comme je l’aurais voulu... 😔

Et puis, il y avait parfois un peu trop de personnages occidentaux à mon goût, avec certaines prestations qui frôlaient le cringe… 😭😂. Après, c’est personnel, mais de ce côté-là, je n’ai pas été convaincue.

Pour l’univers musical, par contre, je reconnais que ça apporte une identité au drama. Entre la musique classique, le piano et le cadre de l’école, il y avait une vraie atmosphère 🎼. Les musiques accompagnent joliment l’histoire, même si, personnellement, les morceaux ne m’ont pas particulièrement marquée. Et puis, aussi jolie soit la bande sonore, elle ne peut pas tout faire non plus... Avec un casting pareil et une mise en scène soignée, j’avais surtout besoin d’un scénario qui me captive davantage.

Pour finir, leur dernière rencontre, avec cet épilogue autour de leurs morceaux joués à quatre mains, apporte quand même un peu d’espoir 🫶🏻. C’est une jolie façon de terminer leur histoire, mais ça n’a pas suffi à me faire oublier mon impression générale...😬. J’ai surtout retenu que le drama avait énormément misé sur la souffrance et les sacrifices pour construire leur lien.

Bref, je dois avouer que je ne comprends pas forcément toute cette hype autour du drama… hormis peut-être pour son duo principal 😅. Je m’attendais à être embarquée dans une histoire intense, portée par la musique et une relation captivante entre les deux protagonistes. Au final, j’ai surtout eu l’impression de regarder un "makjang" remixé dans une école de musique 🤗

Désolée, mais malgré Song Kang et Jun, je suis passée à côté... La partition était prometteuse, mais perso, je n’ai jamais vraiment entendu l’harmonie que j’étais venue chercher...😕✌🏻

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Un piano, quatre mains, une amitié indéfectible au travers de leur amour de la musique

Wow ! J’avais juste envie qu’il ne se termine pas.
L’histoire de cette amitié construite sur l’amour de la musique est magnifique, parfois dramatique lorsque les adultes s’en mêlent avec leurs ambitions ratées qu’ils ont reportées sur leurs enfants comme si leur vie leur appartenait.
Toute cette histoire est portée par de la musique classique avec une variété et un choix judicieux de morceaux. Elle était la muse, l’amante, parfois, souvent, le personnage principal.
La fin de ce drama est magnifique, elle est exactement ce qu’elle devait être car c’est l’histoire d’une connexion, d’une amitié au travers de la musique de deux petits garçons qui ont traversé des souffrances, des drames causés par la cupidité de leur entourage. Cet entourage qui a oublié qu’ils n’étaient pas à eux, qu’ils avaient leur propre sensibilité, leur vulnérabilité et qui a failli les détruire.
Cette fin nous ramène à ces deux enfants, dans la loge, insouciants, sans rivalité, qui ont inscrit leurs noms derrière un rideau, marquant leur amitié indéfectible au travers de la musique.
Et peu importe ce qu’ils deviennent, ils le deviendront ensemble, éloignés peut-être, mais chacun exprimant cet amour de la musique qui les a réunis au travers de ce qu’ils sont réellement et qu’ils sont seuls à comprendre.
Merci de nous offrir cette série, originale, jouée parfaitement par des acteurs de talent qui se sont transformés en musiciens classiques durant ces 12 épisodes.
Je la verrai et reverrai avec plaisir.

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