The Bermuda Festival presented the well known and oft-recorded musicians flautist William Bennett and pianist Clifford Benson on Saturday evening at the City Hall Theatre.

The programme selected by the Bennett and Benson for this performance provided sheer enjoyment for an enthusiastic audience, enhanced by virtuoso performances by both musicians.

The music was romantic, taken from the period or otherwise in the romantic style, or theme. Mozart composed the first piece, Sonata in B Flat K.V. 15, when he was just eight years old. It is always with wonderment that one hears these early compositions by this great composer; the enjoyment they provide enhanced by their exuberance, and it was a delightful way to begin a concert.

Bach's Aria from the St. Matthew Passion, arranged by William Bennett himself, provided for the flute 'a weeping melody', as the flautist himself explained - with the piano expressing the corporal events of the lament.

The musicians performed with real feeling and wonderful cohesion, giving a moving performance.

Mendelssohn's Sonata in F Minor was a highlight of the evening. Arranged by Bennett and Benson, the flautist suggested this piece - "simply good melodic stuff" - had been filched by a roguish violinist!

Far from being stolid, though, Mendolssohn's gorgeous melody, like a rose, continually unfolds, delighting the audience with subtle and surprising variations.

The second movement was pensive, yet none-the-less provided a sense that everything was right with the world. The concluding movement was all excited anticipation, yet still as delightful as the first movement.

Benson and Bennett performed with aplomb; once again demonstrating an extraordinary rapport, the pianist and the flautist clearly enjoyed this wonderful piece.

Rousssel's Joueurs de Flute is a fascinating musical portrait of four of the most sensuous flautists in literature: Pan, Tytire, Krishna and Monsieur de la Pejaudie.

The programme notes explain the flute was Roussel's favourite instrument, and this piece demonstrates the extent of his interest in it and its many moods. Pan's sensuous yet elusive qualities are explored, as is Tytire's lively mischievous nature.

Krishna is depicted as the most sensual of all, while the essence of the east runs throughout this section. It concludes with Monsieur de la Pejaudie, a personality of the time who is painted as a man about town, providing a light-hearted conclusion.

The Tango is not a dance one normally associates with the flute, but this arrangement of Gade's famous Tango Fantasy (when it was recorded, it sold a million copies and was the first ever to do so) was successful.

Bennett clearly enjoyed taking his instrument to unusual musical domains, giving as sensual a performance as one could wish for. Poulenc's Sonata was another highlight.

This work, as Bennett said, is like a Duffy painting, executed with strong outlines. The picture, in this case is of Paris. Coloured with exquisite and sometimes bold dynamics, this performance was elegant, bright and oh, so French!

Taffenel's Mignon fantasy was a fascinating composition to hear. Pieces such as these the only way many people could listen to and enjoy the great operatic works in the days before radios and CDs, as Bennett explained.

The concert concluded with Assobio a Jato by Lobos, composed to capture the slow process of coffee brewing in a giant coffee maker, reflecting his own experience somewhere in the Andes Mountain range.

This was a delightful piece that left one feeling that after such an invigorating concert, a stimulant such as that was quite unnecessary!