# Maestra: Strings of Truth

Maestra: Strings of Truth (Korean: 마에스트라) is a South Korean television series starring Lee Young-ae, Lee Moo-saeng, Kim Young-jae, and Hwang Bo-reum-byeol. Based on the France 2 TV series titled Philharmonia, it is about the struggles and growth of one of the only 5% female conductors in the world. It aired on tvN from December 9, 2023 to January 14, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:20 (KST). It is also available for streaming on TVING in South Korea, and on Disney+ in selected regions.

## Synopsis

The series is about a secretive female conductor who faces the truth surrounding her by digging into the mysterious incidents that happen within her orchestra.

## Cast
### Main

* Lee Young-ae as Cha Se-eum: a former violinist and a world-renowned conductor of an orchestra named The Hangang Philharmonic, who fascinates performers and audience members with her bold and determined personality.
** Woo Da-bi as young Cha Se-eum
* Lee Moo-saeng as Yoo Jung-jae: Se-eum's ex-lover who is an investment tycoon and the chairman of UC Financial.
** Lim Sung-kyun as young Yoo Jung-jae
* Hwang Bo-reum-byeol as Lee Ru-na: a violinist and the youngest concertmaster of The Hangang Philharmonic.
* Kim Young-jae as Kim Pil: Se-eum's overly dependent husband who seems to be affectionate and considerate, but feels inferior to his wife due to her success.
** Jin Geon-woo as young Kim Pil

### Supporting
#### People around Cha Se-eum

* Jung Dong-hwan as Cha Ki-baek: Se-eum's father who is a musical instrument maker.
* Ye Soo-jung as Bae Jeong-hwa: Se-eum's mother who is a former violinist.
* Kim Young-ah as Lee Hye-jeong: best friend and workshop manager of Se-eum.
* Kang Ji-eun as Woo Young-seon: Jeong-hwa's doctor.

#### People around Yoo Jung-jae

* Choi Yun-so as Go Yu-ra: the director of KVN Broadcasting Station and Jung-jae's ex-wife.
* Kim Hyun-jun as Go Han-gil: Jung-jae's long-time friend and Yu-ra's older brother.
* as Secretary Park: Jung-jae's secretary.

#### The Hangang Philharmonic

* Park Ho-san as Jeon Sang-do: the cheerful and quick-witted CEO of The Hangang Philharmonic.
* Yang Jun-mo as Ma Yo-seop: a timpanist and the orchestra's union leader.
* Jin Ho-eun as Kim Bong-ju: the principal oboist.
* Lee Jung-yeol as Park Jae-man: a concertmaster and the oldest member of The Hangang Philharmonic.
* Lee Si-won as Lee Ah-jin: a horn player.
* Kim Min-kyu as Kim Tae-ho: Se-eum's secretary and her long-time fan.
* Jin So-yeon as Kwon Su-jin: an associate concertmaster.
* Jung Seon-ah as Heo Young-mi: the principal second violinist.
* Min A-ram as Shin Ji-ae: assistant principal second violinist.
* Han Jin-hee as Kang In-han: the principal first violinist.
* Hwang Geon as Novaha: the principal cellist.
* Lee Byung-joon as Oh Hyun-seok: the assistant conductor.
* Lim Se-joo as Chief Hwang: Sang-do's secretary.

#### Others

* Ha Ji-young as Kim Song-yi: a reporter
* Choi Soo-gyun as Lee Hae-na: Ru-na's older sister.
* Baek Sung-cheol as Chu Dong-sik: a detective.
* as Baek Joo-won: a detective.

## Production

Filming began soon after the first script reading of the cast, which was held at the end of February 2023. Lee Young-ae started learning conducting and playing violin from November 2022, while Hwang Bo-reum-byeol practiced playing violin for about eight months.
Filming of the series had completed by November 1, 2023.
In July 2023, production company RaemongRaein announced that it had signed a supply contract with Studio Dragon for the production of the series worth 17.5 billion won.

## Viewership

| Season | Season | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number |
| Season | Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| | 1 | 809 | 978 | 1087 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 913 | 1148 | 1160 | 1471 |
Average TV viewership ratings :
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul |
| 1 | December 9, 2023 | 4.192% (1st) | 4.546% (1st) |
| 2 | December 10, 2023 | 4.844% (2nd) | 5.699% (1st) |
| 3 | December 16, 2023 | 5.402% (1st) | 6.013% (1st) |
| 4 | December 17, 2023 | 6.010% (1st) | 6.1% |
| 5 | December 23, 2023 | 5.186% (1st) | N/A |
| 6 | December 24, 2023 | 5.275% (1st) | N/A |
| 7 | December 30, 2023 | 5.256% (1st) | 6.2% |
| 8 | December 31, 2023 | 4.978% (1st) | N/A |
| 9 | January 6, 2024 | 4.656% (1st) | 4.893% (1st) |
| 10 | January 7, 2024 | 5.421% (1st) | 5.497% (1st) |
| 11 | January 13, 2024 | 5.997% (1st) | 6.746% (1st) |
| 12 | January 14, 2024 | 6.784% (1st) | 6.740% (1st) |
| Average | Average | 5.333% | — |
| In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes ratings that were not published. This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC, and EBS). ||||