BTS V learns piano from Cho Seong-jin: "Music doesn't start with the fingertips; it has already begun in the air" [K-EYES]

*This content was translated by AI.

V learns piano from Cho Seong-jin, winner of the 2015 Chopin International Piano Competition… A dream realized after seven years of admiration

BTS member V (Kim Tae-hyung) shared a video of himself taking piano lessons from world-renowned pianist Cho Seong-jin, who won the 2015 Chopin International Piano Competition, sending both the music industry and his fanbase into excitement. V had publicly expressed admiration for the superstar pianist since 2019, and this marks the realization of a dream after approximately seven years.

On the 28th, V shared a video on his official Instagram Story showing him playing the jazz standard "Misty" while seated at a grand piano. Cho Seong-jin played Chopin's Ballade No. 4. The scene, captured through a glass window as both filmed each other playing the piano, became a beautiful moment of friendship.

Notably, when V performed, he demonstrated a gesture of bringing his left arm from afar and placing his fingers on the piano keys. This motion, along with the video caption "It's already started…", directly quotes Cho Seong-jin's famous remark from an interview three years ago: "We don't start this; it's already started."

Cho Seong-jin begins by sitting at the piano and performing his now-famous gesture—slowly bringing his left hand from above the keys—as he starts playing Chopin's Ballade No. 4. His statement conveys that music does not begin the moment a pianist's fingers touch the keys, but rather that the energy of music, already existing in the air from afar, is drawn down (with the left hand) and placed onto the keys.

The two have a deep connection. In 2019, during a V Live broadcast, V expressed his desire to see Cho perform live after watching his performance videos. Last June, they were featured in news reports for attending Cho's "Piano Lisa" concert at Seoul Arts Center together with director Park Chan-wook.

Photos from a military discharge celebration party also showed V alongside Cho Seong-jin and Peggy Gou, confirming their close friendship. In April this year, V explicitly stated during the closing remarks of his Goyang performance that he was "looking for a piano teacher." Just three months later, his dream came true.

Cho Seong-jin is a superstar in the music world who became the first Korean to win the 2015 Chopin International Piano Competition at age 21. Since winning the competition, he has collaborated with top-tier orchestras and released seven studio albums under Deutsche Grammophon. In the 2024–25 season, he served as Artist in Residence for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, solidifying his status as one of the world's leading pianists.

Fans reacted explosively. @meiqi_kv wrote, "Taehyung playing the same piece repeatedly is so cute," while @Raya_for_BTS expressed surprise, asking, "Are you taking lessons from a world-class pianist?" @yourfavgemtaur commented, "This feels like a dream." French fans enthusiastically declared, "I've loved him for 10 years." With V continuing to expand his musical horizons—from vocals and guitar to saxophone and now piano—his relentless pursuit of learning once again captivates fans around the world.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.