Four Hands, Two Sonatas is tvN’s music-drama about two piano prodigies whose friendship curdles into a rivalry with body-count consequences. Song Kang leads the cast as Kang Bi-o, a technically flawless pianist whose world is upended when transfer student Choi Jeong-yo, played by Lee Jun Young, walks into his elite arts high school and forces him to confront the fact that talent alone was never going to be enough.
Here’s your complete guide to the series: full cast, drama details, every episode recap, where to watch, and current MyDramaList stats.
Drama Overview
| Info | Detail |
|---|---|
| Title | Four Hands, Two Sonatas |
| Native Title | 포핸즈 |
| Also Known As | Four Hands, Pohaenjeu |
| Director | Park Hyeon Seok |
| Screenwriter | Shin Yi Won |
| Genre | Music, Romance, Youth, Drama |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Air Dates | August 29 – October 4, 2026 |
| Airs On | tvN, Saturday & Sunday, 21:10 KST |
| Episode Duration | ~1 hr. 10 min. |
| Content Rating | 15+ – Teens 15 or older |
| Country | South Korea |
| Where to Stream | Netflix (subscription) |
This marks Song Kang‘s first drama since completing his military service, and it reunites him with Lee Jun Young, who plays his childhood friend turned rival Choi Jeong-yo. Jang Gyu Ri rounds out the main trio as viola major Hong Jae-in. Four Hands, Two Sonatas premiered on August 29, 2026, at 9:10 p.m. KST, and currently holds a score of 8.5/10 on MyDramaList from over 2,000 users.
Synopsis
At an elite arts high school built for musical prodigies, Kang Bi-o has sat at the top of both academics and performance for as long as anyone can remember. He’s praised as a future star destined for the world’s biggest competitions, and his path looks unshakeable, right up until transfer student Choi Jeong-yo arrives. Jeong-yo is a naturally gifted pianist who walked away from music altogether after a difficult childhood, and his sudden reappearance forces him to face the very thing, and the person, that once reignited his love of playing.
Rounding out the trio is Hong Jae-in, a viola major with unusually sensitive hearing who’s spent her whole life chasing music that genuinely moves her. She becomes both a close friend and a devoted supporter of Bi-o, whose playing has captivated her since they were kids. As rivalry slowly turns into something closer to connection, the three of them collide and grow inside the high-pressure world of competitive classical music, building a friendship forged through competition, ambition, and a shared, sometimes destructive, passion for the piano.
Cast and Characters
Main Cast
Song Kang as Kang Bi-o, the piano prodigy at the center of the story. A technically flawless player raised under the shadow of a famous, and famously cold, grandfather, Bi-o’s arrogance mostly functions as armor for a much deeper fear: that he isn’t actually special.
Lee Jun Young as Choi Jeong-yo, Bi-o’s rival turned closest friend. A naturally gifted pianist who grew up without much stability at home, Jeong-yo’s playing carries an emotional rawness that Bi-o’s technical precision can’t match, a gap that quietly reshapes both of their lives.
Jang Gyu Ri as Hong Jae-in, a viola major and Bi-o’s childhood friend. Her sharp ear for music and her loyalty to both boys puts her right in the middle of their evolving rivalry and friendship.
Support Role
| Actor | Character | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Kim Joo Heon | Do Hyeon-su | Renowned pianist; Bi-o and Jeong-yo’s teacher |
| Yoon Se Ah | Kang Ji-hye | Bi-o’s mother |
| Jung Jin Young | Kang Seung-un | Bi-o’s grandfather, a maestro conductor |
| Seo Jae Hee | Yun Seon-ju | Seung-un’s wife |
| Kim Hye Hwa | Han Hyeon-jeong | Jae-in’s mother; runs a talent management agency |
| Kim Min | Director Kim | A loan shark connected to Jeong-yo’s father’s debt |
| Seong No Jin | Choi Gi-taek | Jeong-yo’s father |
| Lee Myeong Ro | Cho Hyeon-cheol | Jeong-yo’s close friend |
| Yoo Tae Joo | Jang Seok-hwan | Bi-o’s classmate |
| Lee Sang Jun | Yun Han-rim | Bi-o’s classmate |
Episode Guide
Four Hands Two Sonatas airs new episodes on tvN every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. KST. This guide will be updated as new episodes are recapped.
| Ep | Air Date | Recap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 29, 2026 | Read Recap: A Gunshot, A Grandfather’s Cruelty, and Two Pianists Bound for Ruin |
| 2 | Aug 30, 2026 | Read Recap: Pi-o & Jeong-yo’s Bond Begins |
| 3 | Sep 5, 2026 | Read Recap: Pi-o’s Betrayal Explained |
| 4 | Sep 6, 2026 | Read Recap: Pi-o’s Breakdown Explained |
| 5 | Sep 12, 2026 | Read Recap: A Gunshot, a Trophy, and a Whole Lot of Guilt |
| 6 | Sep 13, 2026 | Read Recap: Pi-o’s Romania Search Ends in a Shocking Discovery |
| 7 | Sep 19, 2026 | Recap coming soon |
| 8 | Sep 20, 2026 | Recap coming soon |
| 9 | Sep 26, 2026 | Recap coming soon |
| 10 | Sep 27, 2026 | Recap coming soon |
| 11 | Oct 3, 2026 | Recap coming soon |
| 12 | Oct 4, 2026 | Recap coming soon |
Where to Watch
- South Korea: tvN (broadcast)
- Internationally: Netflix (subscription)
Where the Story Stands So Far
Six episodes in, Four Hands, Two Sonatas has already burned through a full arc’s worth of plot, high school rivalry, forbidden mentorship, a kidnapping, a fake death, and a nine-year time jump, and it isn’t slowing down. What started as a fairly grounded story about two teenage pianists competing for the same grandfather’s approval has curdled into something closer to a mystery thriller, with Kang Ji-hye’s motives, the identity of Bi-o’s real father, and the truth behind Jeong-yo’s disappearance all still very much up in the air heading into Episode 7.
The Episode 6 cliffhanger, Bi-o spotting a very-much-alive Jeong-yo conducting an orchestra abroad, suggests the back half of the season is about to pivot hard from “will these two make up” to “what is everyone hiding, and from whom.” Given how much unresolved tension the show has stacked up around Kang Seung-un’s coldness and Yun Seon-ju’s abrupt departure from the family five years ago, the next stretch of episodes looks set to answer a lot more than it raises.
Watch it if you like: slow-burn rivalry-to-friendship dramas with a dark, mystery-driven back half, and don’t mind a story that takes its music-school setup somewhere much bleaker than expected.
This guide will be updated with new episode recaps as Four Hands, Two Sonatas continues its run through October 4, 2026.
