Nodame Cantabile

Ryutaro Mine is a violinist who needed a piano player for his violin jury. But when he chooses Nodame as his partner, little did he know his troubles were just beginning. The piece performed in the episode is Sonata No. 5 "Spring" for Violin and Piano, Op. 24 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

An admirer of Chiaki, timpanist Masumi Okuyama becomes jealous of Nodame's relationship with him, and torments her with pranks. To sort out their rivalry, they compete to see who can snag a date with Chiaki on Christmas Eve. The piece performed in the episode is a jazz arrangement of Chiaki's composition arranged by Nodame, Mine, and Masumi.

A foreigner visits Chiaki's school and becomes friends with Nodame. Chiaki refuses to let him into his house because of his perverted behavior. It turns out the foreigner is Maestro Franz von Stresemann and is attending the school as head of the conducting department. Chiaki, interested in changing his major to conducting, gets rejected by the new professor who is apparently at odds with Chiaki's former "teacher", Vieira. The piece performed in the episode is Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66 by Frédéric Chopin (brief).

With Stresemann knocked out cold, Nodame "convinces" Chiaki to be substitute conductor for the special orchestra. Chiaki agrees and finds out that the group he's conducting is out of synch. As the rehearsal falls apart, Stresemann takes over and demonstrates everything that Chiaki failed to do. Stresemann finally accepts Chiaki as his student but tells him to remain a piano major. The piece performed in the episode is Symphony No. 7, Op. 92 by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The S orchestra is to perform before the A orchestra at the upcoming concert. However, Stresemann takes "business" leave and Chiaki is forced to take his place conducting the S orchestra. In a twist of events, Stresemann quits the S orchestra and in revenge against Chiaki, plans to lead the A orchestra in humiliating the S orchestra at the concert. With the concert just a week away, Chiaki becomes the S orchestra's new conductor. The piece performed in the episode is Symphony No. 3 Op. 55 "Eroica" by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Chiaki is still having trouble getting the orchestra into shape, and everyone's confidence shatters under his harsh criticisms. With help from Nodame, Chiaki finally realizes Stresemann's reasoning behind the S Orchestra just in time for the concert subscription series, and the S Orchestra manages to impress their audience with an unorthodox display. The piece performed in the episode is Symphony No. 3 Op. 55 "Eroica" by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Chiaki is asked to leave the S orchestra to play the piano solo of Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff as requested by Stresseman for the A orchestra. It is revealed that Stresseman was asked by his ex-lover, a member of the academy's board of directors to instruct Chiaki in conducting. The piece performed by Nodame towards the end of the episode is Etude N° 4 in C Sharp Minor by Frédéric Chopin. The short piece that was played by Stresseman's ex is an excerpt from Nocturne Op 55 No. 1 in F minor, also by Frédéric Chopin.

Stresseman sends Chiaki, Nodame, Mine, and Masumi to a musical festival where each takes lessons from famous musicians in order to better their playing. An unprepared Mine is quickly overwhelmed by the many talented musicians there. Meanwhile, Chiaki is ordered to look out for Stresemann and thanks to Stresemann's hangover, is also made to conduct an orchestra (the piece performed is the Symphony No. 5 in F major, Op. 76, B. 54, by Antonín Dvořák). Nodame is yelled at by the festival director, Nina Lutz, for not having motivation. At the end, however, after much practice, Nodame plays Bartok's Allegro Barbaro magnificently, but disappears from the practice room just as Lutz comes to see who was just playing.

The school festival is here and the S Orchestra is to perform without the aid of Chiaki, who is busy practicing with the A Orchestra with their performance. Chiaki discovers what was missing from his playing courtesy of the S Orchestra, but Stresemann tells him to disregard it for their upcoming performance after insisting on it throughout all his practices. The pieces performed in this episode are Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (brief) and Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin (pianica version).

It is finally Stresemann, Chiaki, and the A Orchestra's turn to perform for the school's fall festival. They manage to captivate the audience with their Rachmaninoff performance. Chiaki and Stresemann go their separate ways as Stresemann returned to Europe the next day. Nodame becomes desperate to perform in an orchestra like Chiaki and is left with a message and present from Stresemann. Saiko, still thinking about Chiaki, comes by for a visit. Nodame also comes by after practicing Rachmaninoff for days without bathing and hardly any food. The piece performed in this episode is Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.