Ep 11. Piano

Nodame Cantabile season 1 episode 11, titled "Piano," starts off with Chiaki tasked with conducting an orchestra that is performing Mozart's Symphony No. 40. After a successful rehearsal, Chiaki walks in on Nodame practicing on her piano. Impressed by her skills, he invites her to play a duet with him at a concert.

Nodame accepts the offer but begins to feel increasingly nervous as the concert approaches. To make matters worse, she discovers that the piano she was supposed to play on is broken. In an attempt to fix it, Nodame ends up getting stuck inside the piano. As she panics, Chiaki manages to calm her down and gets her out of the piano.

With only minutes left before their performance, Nodame and Chiaki rush to find a replacement piano. They eventually find one in a nearby practice room, but Nodame is shocked to discover that it is an expensive grand piano. Determined to give the best performance she can, Nodame decides to play on the grand piano.

As the concert starts, Nodame and Chiaki's duet begins. To everyone's surprise, Nodame's playing is flawless. Her performance evokes a range of emotions in the audience, and many are moved to tears. Even Chiaki is surprised by her talent and impressed by her ability to play so well despite the last minute changes.

The second half of the episode sees Chiaki interacting with his fellow conductors. He discovers that he has a long way to go before he can reach their level of skill. He also learns about the various challenges and pressures that come with being a conductor.

As the episode comes to a close, Chiaki contemplates his own abilities and how he can improve as a conductor. Meanwhile, Nodame receives praise from her peers for her outstanding performance and seems to grow in confidence. The episode ends with both characters entering a new phase of their musical journeys.