Musical Madness bracket contest! Predictions can now be submitted!

[liszt-and-the-galops]

I have been having ongoing issues with posting on pianostreet. I'm now trying again roughly 16 hours later, and have requested that the first post be deleted. Thank you to the four people who have already submitted their brackets, and apologies to everyone else for the issues.

From now until 3:00 PM US Eastern time on February 24th, you can submit your predictions for the bracket contest!
The bracket and matches list are both now available. The bracket can be accessed by clicking on the links below, and both can be accessed by visiting their pages on the Musical Madness website (linked in my signature).
Official bracket: https://challonge.com/musicalmadness2025

To submit your bracket prediction, first go to challonge.com/musicalmadness2025 (first link), and then click "Submit a prediction" (the green button). Within each match, you can click or drag/drop the piece that you think will get more votes and win the match. Do this for each match, then scroll down. Between your two finalists, select which piece you think will win the tournament.
Then, title your prediction. If you are a member on pianostreet, please include your username within the title. Titles that include profanity, explicit content, or slurs will be removed and will not be eligible for the bracket contest.
If you have trouble reading the names of the pieces in each match, check out the matches list on the Musical Madness website (PS doesn't like me linking the Excel file here, for some reason).
You are not required to have a pianostreet or challonge account to submit a prediction.

You have until 3:00 PM on February 24th, 2025 (US Eastern time) to submit your prediction. Due to some issues I had with posting, the deadline may be slightly extended. Good luck, everyone!

[transitional]

Is the voting going to be over Google Forms again? The voting method will have a big influence on the results, I think, especially if a bunch of trolls come in and start to sway the fastest and most notey etudes.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Is the voting going to be over Google Forms again? The voting method will have a big influence on the results, I think, especially if a bunch of trolls come in and start to sway the fastest and most notey etudes.

Voting will most likely be over Google Forms, unless I find an alternative that will allow me to do spam prevention while not also looking at everyone's email addresses.

I think the "a bunch of trolls come in and start to sway the fastest and most note-y etudes" part is kind of inevitable (though a decent amount of them probably wouldn't actually be trolls). Same thing for the people who vote La Campanella for the sake of voting La Campanella -- that'll probably apply to El Contrabandista now, too.

[transitional]

gasplamey, I just saw your thing. Can't you just click "forgot password" if you forgot your password? Or make a new account if you really can't log back on?

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Whoever made the "AI sucks at this" prediction has a sense of humor, lmao.

Also, not a single submitted bracket has had the same prediction for the winning piece. Just an interesting thing to note.

Edit: it took until the 21st submission, but someone finally submitted a repeat winner (S. 140 no. 4b)!

Edit2: 27 predictions (25 of them complete) have been submitted. Thanks so much to everyone who has participated!

[yqxpiano]

Remove La Campanella…
The urge to vote for it is too strong

Anyways I have little knowledge of pieces like these but I will still make a bracket because why not.
Argh the boxes are too small I can’t see the full names of the pieces

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Remove La Campanella…
The urge to vote for it is too strong

Anyways I have little knowledge of pieces like these but I will still make a bracket because why not.
Argh the boxes are too small I can’t see the full names of the pieces

There's a matches list available on the website. Link below:
https://sites.google.com/view/musicalmadness-ps/matches-list-2025
That will allow you to view the full names of the pieces.
You can also hover your mouse over the box of each piece to view the full name.
Sorry for the late response, and hope this helps!

[transitional]

Just filled out the bracket. As much Liszt, Alkan, and Chopin (in that order) as possible.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Just filled out the bracket. As much Liszt, Alkan, and Chopin (in that order) as possible.

I see the reasoning behind a lot of your more controversial picks, but what's the logic for Chopin B4 beating Petrushka, and Chopin Double Thirds beating Liszt S. 140 no. 4?

[transitional]

I see the reasoning behind a lot of your more controversial picks, but what's the logic for Chopin B4 beating Petrushka, and Chopin Double Thirds beating Liszt S. 140 no. 4?

Ballade 4 is more well known, and it's well known as a "hard piece". Most ballades that start unassumingly, as well as that Liszt Clochette piece, would easily be beaten, but most people are familiar with Ballade 4's difficulty. (I heard it first time 1 year before Petrushka Movements).

As for the Liszt - there's a harder version of it and Double Thirds is also Chopin, so I feel like it would be a Chopin blowout, but probably a close tournament.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Ballade 4 is more well known, and it's well known as a "hard piece". Most ballades that start unassumingly, as well as that Liszt Clochette piece, would easily be beaten, but most people are familiar with Ballade 4's difficulty. (I heard it first time 1 year before Petrushka Movements).

As for the Liszt - there's a harder version of it and Double Thirds is also Chopin, so I feel like it would be a Chopin blowout, but probably a close tournament.

I suppose both of those are fair, though I kind of doubt that the existence of S. 140 no. 4b is going to drag S. 140 no. 4 down by that much.

A lot of the closer matches in my bracket were decided on stuff like bravura (which is why I have Saint-Saens' Toccata in the semifinals), notoriety (La Campanella, Le Preux, S. 140 no. 4b), and if the example performance is a synthesia video, since I feel like that makes the technical difficulty more obvious -- and I doubt that more than half of the voters will care about musical difficulty.
Essentially my priority list was technical difficulty >>> "bravura" > popularity > musical difficulty > everything else.
We'll just have to see how things go!

Edit: we're at 32 bracket submissions! Thanks to everyone who has participated so far!

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Last year, I did a statistics post at 34 entries. I figured I may as well do that again here (I also posted this on Challonge, under the "Announcements" tab).

Most likely to advance in round 1: Petrushka (90.63%), Wilde Jagd, Le Preux (both 87.50%)

The number of "#1 La Campanella fan" brackets is way less than last year; only 2 brackets have it winning (tied for second most), 3 have it in the finals (tied for fourth most), and 7 place it in the semifinals (tied for third most). It's absolutely higher than it should be (3rd highest ranked piece overall), but it's not as extreme as it was last year.

S. 140 no. 4b is currently the highest-ranked piece, followed by Grand Galop Chromatique, La Campanella, and then a tie between Petrushka and Rondeau Fantastique. Scriabin 42/5 and Prokofiev's Toccata are the lowest-ranked pieces, with not a single bracket thus far having picked the latter to make it to the Round of 16.

S. 140 no. 4b is also in the top three for nearly all categories; a tougher round 1 matchup against Scriabin's 5th Sonata keeps it from ranking high in that category.

In terms of championship picks, S. 140 no. 4b leads the way with 3 brackets expecting it to win it all. In joint second-place (2 brackets), we have S. 140 no. 3 "La Campanella", The Firebird, Grand Galop Chromatique, La Clochette, and Rondeau Fantastique "El Contrabandista". Another 19 pieces all have one bracket picking them to be the champion.

There is exactly one bracket with Scarlatti - K. 141 making it past the second round, and that bracket (titled "ABAP (As Bad As Possible)") also has it winning the whole tournament.

Comme le Vent, Wilde Jagd, The Firebird, Grand Galop Chromatique, Lavapiés, Saint-Saens' Toccata, Feux Follets, Le Preux, Petrushka, Spanish Rhapsody, Rondeau Fantastique, and S. 140 no. 4b are all above average in every category. Mark them as favorites!

La Campanella, Hammerklavier mvt. 4, Czerny's Op. 268 mvt. 4, Alkan's Allegro Barbaro, Scriabin's 8th Sonata, Le Festin d'Ésope, Paganini Variation (Book I), and Alkan's Concerto (mvt. 3) all never dip below average, but have a(t least one) rougher category. They're the current dark horses.

The Firebird, Le Preux, Petrushka, S. 140 no. 4b, and to a lesser extent Grand Galop Chromatique and Spanish Rhapsody are all shaping up to do particularly well -- between all six of them, not one places below 12th in any category, and are all in the top ten highest-ranked pieces overall (Le Preux is lowest, at 10th). Petrushka, Spanish Rhapsody, Grand Galop Chromatique, and S. 140 no. 4b all rank first in at least one category. Expect deep tournament runs from all of these pieces.


Those are the things I found most noteworthy. If there's anything else you want to know, reply to this post!

[gasplamey]

gasplamey, I just saw your thing. Can't you just click "forgot password" if you forgot your password? Or make a new account if you really can't log back on?

I finally found the "forgot password" button.
It was in a very strange spot, right in the middle of the screen.

Also, latg, you have an account on here so you can do this. Explain to me what the fxck is going on with your bracket. I need to have an argument about piano after all these months of not being able to speak on here.

[transitional]

There are lots more factors to consider in this year's bracket than last year's. It's going to be a hotly contested one, for sure.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

I finally found the "forgot password" button.
It was in a very strange spot, right in the middle of the screen.

LMFAO

Also, latg, you have an account on here so you can do this. Explain to me what the fxck is going on with your bracket. I need to have an argument about piano after all these months of not being able to speak on here.

Sure. What part of my bracket are you confused by?

There are lots more factors to consider in this year's bracket than last year's. It's going to be a hotly contested one, for sure.

I mean, just based on the bracket submissions, S. 140 no. 4b has more than double the championship odds of any other piece. I think we can safely expect it to at least make the semifinals.
The real question is what pieces will join it, and if any of them will be able to stop it.

I just hope La Campanella doesn't make the semifinals; I think quarterfinals for it is just about guaranteed (unless I'm severely underestimating S. 140 no. 6, Hammerklavier mvt. 4, or Godowsky Study no. 50), so hopefully whatever the other quarterfinalist on that part of the bracket is will beat it pretty decisively.

[gasplamey]

Sure. What part of my bracket are you confused by?

You can start by explaining how Saint-Saens 111/6 Toccata-after-Sonata-or-whatever beats Ondine and GGC, and how Islamey beats Scarbo.

Transitional, you're on the hook for that second one too, and for explaining how on earth it beats the third movement of the Alkan Concerto too. And for your Petrushka v. Le Preux thing.

Like, what the heck dude? /joking

[liszt-and-the-galops]

You can start by explaining how Saint-Saens 111/6 Toccata-after-Sonata-or-whatever beats Ondine and GGC, and how Islamey beats Scarbo.

I explained part of this in my post here:

A lot of the closer matches in my bracket were decided on stuff like bravura (which is why I have Saint-Saens' Toccata in the semifinals), notoriety (La Campanella, Le Preux, S. 140 no. 4b), and if the example performance is a synthesia video, since I feel like that makes the technical difficulty more obvious -- and I doubt that more than half of the voters will care about musical difficulty.

Saint-Saens' Toccata beating the Galop was because I'm decently sure that the Toccata is actually more difficult and that it has enough bravura elements to win out. Ondine was entirely based on bravura.
Islamey beating Scarbo is at least 40% PTSD from picking Scarbo to win the whole thing last year and then it getting knocked out round 1, lol. Also, Islamey beat Feux Follets last year, which was the piece that beat Scarbo.
In case anyone is wondering why I picked Chasse-Neige over Mazeppa, it's because I honestly feel that S. 137 C-N is more difficult than S. 138 Mazeppa.