Do You Like Brahms? (2020)

Bittersweet Symphony

Started watching in between Extraordinary Attorney Woo episodes and it started really strong for the first third. The pace then really slowed down - so much so that I watched it at 1.5x speed. It's a lovely drama with great acting from the leads, and great music but I think they missed a trick with the slow pace. Park Eun-Bin is delightful!

Our protagonist is not good at playing the violin (sounded amazing to me) but she loves it and perseveres - much to the lack of support from her family (not her dad) and her teachers.
Coupled with her struggles, there is a love triangle that drags out too long which takes away some of the joy - it would have been nicer to have Sun Ah prove people wrong and for the final act to show the storylines resolved nicely to end on a happier tone. There was too much sadness for me but then maybe I'm a romantic!

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Great slice of life classical music school - heartwarming romance

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2020 South Korean romantic drama with 16, 65 minute episodes. It is known by the alternate titles: Beuramseureul Joahaseyo , Please Love Brahms , Liking Brahms , beuramseuleul jonghahaseyo , and beuramseuleul jonghahaseyo.

Chae Song Ah (Park Eun Bin) originally majored in business but decides to pursue her love of classical music, violin in particular, at the same university. This alone sets her apart from the other students who came from music focused programs and are going through their first major interest. She is not a prodigy and instead struggles and works hard to develop her ability with violin. This causes a lot of conflict as she is already seven years older than the other students in the program and having a working rather than natural talent makes pursuit of her dream all the more difficult . Her family also strongly disapproved of her change in major. Feeling like an outsider, Song Ah finds comfort in beautiful music so when she hears Park Joon Young (Kim Min Jae), who is a prodigy, masterfully playing “Träumerei," she is drawn to the talented pianist. Caught in a love triangle which has left him with a broken heart he is in love with Lee Jung Kyung (Park Ji Hyun), a friend he has known for a long time. Because of timing his other close friend, Han Hyun Ho (Kim Sung Cheol) is in a romantic relationship with Jung Kyung. When he decides to keep his distance from Jung Kyung, he meets Song Ah and is drawn to her passion for music. This slice of classical music life is a deep look at classical music as a field of study and a slice of life of those that choose to pursue it.

I loved the "slice of life" of those pursuing classical music. Like so many other educational pursuits there is a lot of "dog eat dog", elite structures, power plays and all those things that can make or break anyone. It actually gave me some flash backs to my Ph.D. study days. Spoilers ** It took a lot of courage for Song Ah to have completed an undergraduate program in Business and change to something so radically different. One thing I did not think was well explained was how she came to play violin. Had she played it as a child? Did she pick it up as a teen? It was hard to see her consistently discriminated against for being an "older" student and for coming from outside music. The love story between the leads was believable as they were both very similar in the way they approached things and how soft and gentle their personalities were. They both did not like crossing people and others took advantage of them because of their sweet natures. That became a source of conflict between the two as Joon Young was constantly manipulated by his former love interest, Jung Kung. There were several attempts to make Jung Kung a character to feel sympathetic toward, her loss of her mother at a young age, a cruel violin instructor and her mother coldly making her practice endlessly, and her loneliness in being a heir to a foundation she had no interest in running. I wanted to see a lot of character growth from her, and there was a little, but I still felt she was, on balance cruel. She had opportunities to bridge gaps with those around her and did not take them. After all the struggle Song ah had with pursing her dream to play violin, and her final success with it, it was disappointing that she completely gave it up. I thought perhaps the "key" to her musical success would be playing music with Joon Young and their performance was her shining moment but, in the end, she gave it up completely after so many years of struggle. I loved that Joon Young discovered a renewed love of piano with having Song Ah in his life. Most of the major plot elements were completed and that was refreshing. There wasn't an overlong separation and that was a welcome departure from that tired trope. Park Eun bin is so pretty and I enjoyed her acting in "The King's Affection." I was not disappointed with her performance in this role either. She is someone I will be watching and seeking out things she is in. Kim Min jae is also extremely talented and just fun to watch. He has very soulful eyes and portrays the emotions of the moment very well. Overall I loved this drama for the immersion in classical music, insight into that world, and the heart warming romance. The main detractor for me was Song ah giving up the violin - that marred the perfection of this drama as it did not make sense that someone who sacrificed so much would give it up completely. I recommend this drama to anyone that loves classical music, enjoys these actors and likes uncomplicated (in terms of plot twists and mysterious pasts) heart warming romance.

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Beautiful and Heartfelt, but Sadly Underrated

Story

Do You Like Brahms? has a richly layered, character-driven storyline. As the drama progresses, the story slowly unfolds. Well-timed flashbacks reveal deeper dynamics between relationships in the present and add depth to every character. The pacing of this drama is slow. Incredibly slow. Conflicts take several episodes to span out and longer to resolve. There are no big reveals, no big displays of emotions that conveniently wrap up disagreements. Instead, the plot is characterized by small interactions that are telling.

The reason this drama moves at a snail’s pace is because it needs you to pay attention. You have to read between the lines when people are talking. There were moments when Chae Song-Ah talked about how she felt playing the violin, but she was really talking about her dreams and ambitions.

Some reviews talked about how frustrating the plot was because it was fraught with misunderstandings. But isn’t that an entirely human thing, to have moments of miscommunication? How often do people say what they mean? Even when they want to, how easy is it to let someone know how you feel? This drama asks these questions, all the while telling a story that relies on the relationships different characters have with each other, and themselves.

Do You Like Brahms? narrows its focus into everyday interactions between characters. To be fair, Chae Song Ah and Park Joon Young communicate better than most drama couples. There are moments when they misunderstand each other, but they straighten things out quickly.

Acting/Cast

I admired the cast here. I thought they all portrayed their characters well. Most scenes required subtlety to get emotions across, and everyone did their part there.

I loved the characters in this drama. Chae Song Ah, on the outside, seems like a pushover because of how quiet and thoughtful she is. Yet she has a quiet inner strength. It isn’t that Song Ah isn’t a fighter. She simply chooses her battles. She graduated as a business major and then went back to school to study music. Despite all the obstacles in her way, she silently, but steadily fights for her dreams.

Park Joon Young is also introverted. Lee Jung Kyung says that Joon Young speaks with his music first, rather than his words. That being said, he has his bold moments, just like Song Ah. He carries all his burdens himself and doesn’t open up easily, but he also cares deeply for the people around him.

I loved watching Song Ah and Joon Young. They’re both incredibly polite and there are a few awkward moments when they’re getting to know each other. It was rewarding to watch their relationship grow. They stole my whole heart in this show. I liked that they didn’t hesitate to talk about what was on their minds. They weren’t always fair to each other, and there were moments of conflict, but they worked their way through things. I found myself hanging on to every interaction and looking forward to each episode.

The side characters were a treat all on their own. Han Hyun Ho was cheerful, caring and soft. Jung Kyung was a complex play of strength and vulnerability. She’s sharp-tongued and selfish, but she’s also surprisingly vulnerable. There’s a part of her that’s lost, who’s trying to find herself. It was endearing to watch her journey in this drama.

Music

I liked the soundtrack here. Tayeon’s Kiss You might be my favorite, but the songs ranged from light-hearted to emotional and made all the scenes better.

Rewatch Value

I would definitely rewatch this, given some time. It’s one of those dramas that I feel will have new things to love with every screening, and I’m happy to add this to my list of all-time favorites.

Overall

Do You Like Brahms? is about a lot of things: about losing love and finding a new one, about following your dreams, but also about knowing when it’s time to stop fighting and let things go. It’s about friendship, love, pain, healing, and having the courage to start over. I haven’t come across a drama with this much depth before (it’s like a book, there’s so much to analyze). I’d say this is a psychological drama, but not in the sense of crime dramas. Do You Like Brahms? goes inside the minds of all its characters, revealing what is hidden: flaws, insecurities, hopes, regrets, wishes, and dreams. It gets very personal with the main characters in the story. This show made me smile like an idiot, tear up and feel like I wasn’t alone. It’s safe to say I loved it deeply.
If you’re looking for something light-hearted, or something exciting, I’d say skip Do You Like Brahms? This is a drama for people who are ready to invest their time and emotions in characters and all the small parts of their story. It takes some time to paint a picture, but at the end of the day, it’s a beautiful painting.

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I am very pleased with this

I like shows that make me feel something. Some people feel that this show was repetitive and full of misunderstandings. It was but I think it was done rather well and realistically. I didn't notice it's repetitiveness until I thought about the train of events so I would say still that it's rather good.
I think the characters were were interesting. There were misunderstandings and I was upset but the misunderstandings were a direct result of personality traits of the characters that we were informed about early on. Even if it was annoying it was believable and I could totally see this playing out in real life. If you enjoy stories about relationships and deep friendships you well definitely enjoy this. Sometimes people don't communicate well and that is also reality. If you don't like love triangles you should stay away.
The characters are well done but Jung Kyung's character was a bit incomplete at the end.
When I decided to watch this I wanted something slow and thoughtful and I recommend that you be in a similar state of mind to enjoy this. The acting is pretty good and the fl carries the story and her emotions best. Still all of the others give a good performance. The music they play- because they are music students- is good and sometimes it's beautiful.
It is an interesting and thoughtful story.

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First half healing, second half disappointing

Starting this off by saying that this is my first MDL review and English isn’t my first language! Btw I’m always open to discussions in the comments :-)
I feel the urge to write a review about DYLB because I have a LOT of mixed feelings about this show, but I would still recommend it to anyone that’s looking for a slow-paced drama.

STORY
I absolutely loved this show until like ep. 10! The pacing, settings, dialogues, main characters (!) etc. were really calm and had an overall relaxing vibe. Because of this, I thought of DYLB as a healing show I could watch whenever I was feeling down, but in the last episodes the plot became a HUGE mess: bad things kept happening one after another (pointlessly, in my opinion) and a lot of side characters became awful. Maybe the thing that let me down the most was that the main couple started to have some trust/communication problems as I loved them in the first place because they were always there for each other despite their personal struggles :-( So the positive feelings I got at the beginning of the show just gradually disappeared and I still don’t really get why the writers thought all these conflicts were necessary (my rating would have been a LOT higher if it wasn’t for how messy it got at the end!).
CHARACTERS
The two main characters are EVERYTHING to me, I care about them a lot because they’re so shy and well-mannered and calm! They made me understand that the main characters don’t have to be super loud or crazy or annoying for the show to have a solid plot. Also I thought it was really cool how the dynamics of their respective friend groups actually mirrored the Brahms-Schumann-Clara trio (& eventually shifting the Brahms role when the main couple falls in love). I didn’t even mind all of the love triangles honestly (but it’s a personal preference, I kinda get that people may find them annoying as they were a LOT). About the side characters, I didn’t really like the fact that the only nice people were Cha Young In and her employee :-( give the main characters a break please!!!!
SCREENPLAY
I have too many thoughts on the screenplay honestly. It’s so confusing to me because it’s both the best screenplay ever and the worst at the same time? For example, the dialogues were unmatched! Really touching until the very end. But I don’t get how the same screenwriters could put like twice every episode a scene where the only character who’s not supposed to be there suddenly just shows up, without any explanations or logic behind how and when and why they arrive at the right (or wrong) moment. I'm not a personal fan of this cliché but I guess I’ll have to let it slide as the rest of the show was really good tbh.
MUSIC
To be honest I was kind of disappointed? I didn’t like the OST that much, considering the singers involved and the fact that it’s literally a show about music (lol). On the other hand, I loved the use of classical music and its history in the storytelling (!) and each episode’s titles!

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You'll learn so much from this drama, trust me.

HOLY I never thought I would fall in love with this drama as much as I do now. I watched this drama while it was airing, and it took me so long to write this because this drama has affected me so much that I needed time to rest my feelings *cries in post drama syndrome*

I decided to picked up this drama when I came across a short clip on Insta- (the scene where the male lead played Moonlight Sonata remix into Happy Birthday song to the female lead to console her) the scene was too beautifully executed and full of emotions. I knew from that moment DYLB would be my kind of drama, and I'm so glad I did not miss it.

Story:
This was my first classical music drama, hence it was quite refreshing to me. I have little knowledge about the classical music field, but the production team did a great job portraying the reality of the classical music world behind the spotlights. The story started with 2 love triangles, with characters that are broken, scarred from their unrequited love, and later piled with problems faced in life. Yes, it may seem like an overused plot, but no, it was different. The best part about DYLB is the human interactions between all the leads. How they responded to the hardships, how they handle difficult situations in a realistic way. The writers included many life lessons as the story unfolds, which made it so relatable to the viewers life. The pace is totally fine for me. I've seen reviews saying that it's slow and draggy in the later episodes, but I think those parts were necessary to the development of the story. (here comes the spoiler, skip if you don't want to read it) Somewhere in the later episodes, the two leads begin to have conflict, and started to hide their own feelings, basically lack of communication. And it was during this part where many people started to get annoyed about this drama, and dropped it but not me. Let me explain. It's because I found this situation very close to reality. Very often you hear couples breaking up because of lack of communication. And hell yes, I want to see how the leads deal with this first world problem, and I actually wanted to learn from them, to see relationships from different perspectives. This is the whole point of creating that plot. If the writers were to write a smooth sailing lovey dovey relationship, I will totally be bored because there is no ups and downs in it.. And the fact that SongAh requested for the breakup was totally understandable and realistic, because she felt that Joonyoung had residual feelings from his previous crush, and if he do not sort things out, the new relationship will not go far. And for those who said the leads are painfully awkward to watch, well people like them do exist in real life, introverts can relate lol, and it's the cutest thing to watch two introverts flirting with each other.

Acting/Cast:
I like how the director carefully picked his actor and actresses. Those people are REAL TALENTS who themselves know how to play the instruments. Most performance scenes were played by the actors themselves (you can see it for yourself in The Making) which makes the entire drama so believable. All the leads' acting are superb, my baby MinJae and Eunbin, but I want to give extra credits to KIM SUNG CHEOL!!! He deserves an award for all the crying scenes which are all so painful to watch T^T I hope he gets a lead role in his next project, he deserves more recognition, glad that I get to know him through DYLB!

Music:
I strongly believe that the best dramas have the best OSTs. And here we have 3 OSTs from Punch, one from Taeyeon, GOD, Kwill, Gummy, Chen, Baekhyun, Kim Nayoung, 10cm!! I mean come on, it's impossible for these OST legends to produce bad music (I even bought the OST album bc it's so good and I wanted to show my gratitude towards them)
Some classical music are also particularly memorable, for me it's Moonlight sonata, Traumerei, Windmung and F.A.E. Because of these classical music, I decided to relearn piano after not touching it for more than 5 YEARS, and I am going to be dedicated to it for SongAh and Joonyoung. This is how IMPACTFUL the story conveyed through emotions and music is. no joke.

Rewatch Value:
I don't usually rewatch dramas because there's never enough time to catch up on new dramas. But i think I've rewatch so many cut clips and behind the scenes on Instagram countless times, which may be equivalent to the duration of the entire drama XD so yeah, i might have already rewatch the whole drama. And I will keep on rewatching it whenever I needed some soul healing.

Overall:
This drama holds a very special place in my heart, the entire production from cinematography to script writing to directing and acting are top notch. Thank you to the entire production team! <3
This drama makes me appreciate the world of classical music in no ways others would.
Lastly, I want to include one of my favourite takeaways from this drama: "It is better to get 10 points from 1 or 2 person, and 6-7 points from the rest. Because those 1 or 2 judges will go home having seen a performance they'll never forget. So, follow your heart."
DYLB got a solid 10 points from me, and I believe many people like me, will never forget this great masterpiece.

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Stress Reliever!!!

If you want to feel relax and just forget about those stressful things, you should definitely check this out. I've seen a lot of reviews saying that this is boring and awkward and honestly speaking, I almost not watch it because of them BUTTT I AM VERY GLAD THAT I DID!!!

Now, this drama became my favorite! YUHHHH! My one and only favorite kdrama! Awkwardness? That's what makes the main characters' cute for me and it actually maximize their charm!!! Kim Min Jae and Park Eun Bin are now one of my fav k actor/actress.

You will definitely regret not checking this out if you belong to those people who just wanted to relax in this stressful world!

P. S. This is my first time making a review and I just did this because I really loved the drama.

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perfectly flawed characters making cute awkward smiles at each other :D :*

#DoYouLikeBrahms definitely made it as my top fave 2020 melodrama. I usually get annoyed when kdramas go from a very slow warmhearted pace then suddenly go haywire and unnecessarily dramatic. They drop all the problems at once –– breaking the couple up, making ALL the side characters VERY problematic, and showing how dumb the lead characters are –– that all you feel while watching the drama is be annoyed at literally everything.

Thankfully, DYLB’s storyline was neither dull and lacking nor went over the edge. It just injected the right dose of melodrama I needed at the right moment. All the characters developed at a perfect timing.

I’ve read lots of comments who hated on Joon Young’s character. Yes, he has his flaws, but to me, he was perfectly flawed until the very end. He was used to suppressing his emotions. He rarely expressed himself and even if the pain was unbearable, he would rather suffer alone. Why? Because all his life, he couldn’t truly rely on anyone, which made it hard to open up his heart even to Song Ah. I just felt that the story could’ve done better in explaining Joon Young’s character.

Song Ah on the other hand (while she’s equally frustrating hehe) always knew when to speak up, cut ties, and be cheesy. (HAHAHA LOL) Despite initial complaints (LOL), I really like the timing of their break up. They broke up at a time when all the evil characters and ugly circumstances that were introduced during the first part of the series were slowly settling in and fixing themselves. I was able to focus on their break up, their emotions, and how they got back together. It would’ve been too much for me had they broken up at the same time as when both of them were having a hard time practicing with their respective professors, JY’s dad and new representative were being assholes, his mom was crying and being pathetic all the time, or when both their friends were acting up.

I love that DYLB stuck to its story’s essence from the very start ––– in both music and love, some only feel valuable when someone’s listening to them and their pieces, while there are those like Song Ah and Joon Young, who’d love nothing more than to to always find solace in each other and their very own song.

Thank you, DYLB! Min Jae and Eun Bin really did well and I hope to see them together again!!! It was indeed a heartwarming and mellow several weeks spent with you. I’ll miss these two awkward balls of (frustrating) sunshine hehe!

In this noisy and chaotic world, may all of us find our own kind of music for both happiness and comfort.

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I enjoyed it more than I expect. I usually didn't enjoy slow dramas as much, but for this drama even though the story was light and slow but it was somehow comforting. the way that all characters are calm and mature rather than a bright and childish, the way there's no character that I hate, the realistic storyline as in I can imagine this story happening in real life, its cute yet innocent relationship and not overly cringey, and of course the whole classical music theme makes this drama somehow comforting and very relaxing to watch. I can't deny that some parts were not as good, the storyline at some parts were too slow and boring for me as well as the same issue were repeated again and again especially in the last 4 episodes making it less interesting, but I enjoyed it regardless.

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Do You Like Brahms? soars aimlessly ; it’s a good thing and a bad thing.

I am not a fan of melo dramas and I hate love triangles, but I fell in love with Do You Like Brahms? at the get-go, regardless of it being a web of love triangles. I loved the leads, they are likable and relatable, and you root for them throughout. The romance was really sweet. Most of the characters were well-written, you understand their struggles even though they seem unreasonable at a glance. The drama overall brought me this sense of comfort and tranquility.

The show starts up really well, I was hooked right from the beginning. The writing was really subtle without unnecessary exposition or subplots. But it falls flat towards the end, as if it lost its path and didn’t know where to flow. Unnecessary plot points , complications and misunderstandings towards the end makes the show lose its shine. There are certain plot points that makes no sense when you really think about them.

Regardless, I loved the drama overall and the emotions it brought me. I love the characters and enjoyed their journey. There were things I wish they had done differently, but I am happy that they made this drama and took me on this journey.

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Realistic and slow paced nof everyones cup of tea but definitely mine

This drama started off sweet. The two main leads protrayed their characters amazingly and you could really see how they fell in love. Two different types of introverts on different spectrums of talent falling in love. I loved the way FL is quiet yet she speaks up about her feelings when needed. The the ML who is quiet yet kind and gentle, a literal gentlemen. The kiss scene in ep 8 literally got me swooning.
The peek into the competetive industry also was really eye opening. It also really showed the hidden side of relationships, where insecurities and jealousy come in.
Im the kind of person who cringes pretty easily expecially at corny lines, but surprisingly i didnt cringe much in this drama. Many people say the FL is whiny and cringe but honestly i think in her stituation anyone would have reacted similarly. ML and FLs chemistry was honestly amazing to.
Although the melodrama part could jave been shorter. I honestly was annoyed at the miscommunications and what not in the 4-5 episodes. It overshadowed the sweet romantic parts a little.
Definitely worth a watch if you dont mind slowpaced dramas and a more realistic take on romantic relationships.
Oh and if you love classical music this is also definitely a show you would want to watch. Kinda gives me your lie in april vibes.

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Loved the FL, shined throughout the drama

This drama is exceptional and very intense.
Story: Nothing we haven't seen before. It was good in its own way
Characters:
FL: The drama is from FL's POV, how she broke the stereotype and went back to try out what she always dreamed of, to avoid any regret in the future. Love a strong FL. Very straightforward most of the time, she daringly confronted the ML on many occasions instead of backing away, not doing so might lead to more angst and misunderstandings. She didn't go the route of 'I love him, even though I'm hurting so much and should always understand him', she tried her best to be happy, but when it came to a point she found she was not happy she openly words her fears and insecurities straight on instead of bottling up, which i found very satisfying. In this era, we have to voice out good or bad with the people we love to make them understand how they make us feel. She has her insecurities with her music and love life in the middle, but she turned out strong in the end. Didn't take shit from ML or anyone else. Of course, they get back together but I liked how she prioritized herself first after all the pain she went thru and said "enough, I don't want to deal with ur shit anymore". PEB nailed it!! she was spot on in every scene, you can literally see the emotions in her expressions.

ML: Very complex character. A guy who is confused and couldn't set his priorities straight. Understandable at the beginning of the drama coz he is struggling with his hidden feelings for the SFL, but not after he admitted he likes the FL and they start dating. Didn't want to share things with FL even though he knew it might hurt her and lead to misunderstandings. Hated it when he ignored her and lied multiple times unless the FL confronted him. Agree he is kind of a person who bottles up/ not share his probs but not at the cost of hurting the person he loves the most which he claims is the FL. He is not a bad person but just a conflicted person. Sure there would be a few mistakes we make in a relationship that too being an introverted person he is but wish he got over a few things first and then took the big step. Drama has shown how much pain and torment the FL has gone thru coz of him, I would've been satisfied if he had gone thru same pain, sure there was some at the end but felt it was nothing compared to other party.
But overall nice acting. KMJ managed to convey his emotions well most of the time.

SML is the sad puppy of the show, his acting touched the spots.
SFL is not the typical evil B. sure she tried to sabotage the ML's relationship once or twice, but not to the extent of being evil.
OST is good enough for a drama that is set in the music world.

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