Luiz Felipe Scolari may well have ended up in the hot seat at Chelsea over the weekend, but the bookies are still reporting fevered speculation on the outcome of the National test piece for the Royal Albert Hall in October.

Speculation

With no definite news as yet to when the test piece will be announced on the Kapitol Promotions website, it seems the brass band rumour mill, gossip columns and even the reading of tea leaves in the bottom of the tea cups in the half time break at rehearsals has taken on an even more intensive gaze.

After this, you can get better odds on Mr Scolari conducting Black Dyke at the Nationals now he will be in the vicinity on the weekend4BR

Honest Harry

‘Honest Harry Hill – Brass Band Bookmaker to the Stars’ reports that Kenneth Downie remains the firm favourite to be the name on the opening page of the test piece score this year, although not on one that too many people may have heard of.

Snouts

His snouts from across the English Channel, and even as far as the cantons of Switzerland, report that although many have been placing their bets on a possible ‘St Magnus’ or ‘Promised Land’, the clever money may be heading on another piece of his that was played at the Swiss Nationals last year – his ‘Concerto for Brass Band’, which was performed by Treize Etoile, or even a brand new work.

Odds

Honest Harry’s spectacular degree of intuition, speculation and the use of a direct link to the brass band equivalent of Doris Stokes says that all of a sudden the odds on a third major Downie work being used at one of the major brass band contests have shortened considerably…

Latest Betting?

4 – 1 favourite: Concerto for Brass Band – Kenneth Downie

5 – 1: The Promised Land – Kenneth Downie

6 – 1: Titan’s Progress – Herman Pallhuber

7 –1: Daphnis & Chloe – Ravel arranged Howard Snell

8 –1: Benvenuto Cellini – Berlioz – arranged Frank Wright

9 – 1: Visions of Gerontius — Kenneth Downie

10- 1: Montage – Peter Graham

Better odds

After this, you can get better odds on Mr Scolari conducting Black Dyke at the Nationals now he will be in the vicinity on the weekend.

Eyes peeled to the Kapitol website once again then…