For 26 years Bermuda Festival artists have come and gone, some leaving indelible memories, and others simply slipping into oblivion.

Those who attended Friday night's Bermuda Festival debut of British/Australian pianist Leslie Howard at City Hall are unlikely to forget either his profound artistry or the sheer dynamicism of his performance.

Any number of superlatives would be appropriate, but would they be adequate? I think not -- but then the man whose feat of recording the entire piano works of Franz Liszt on 94 compact discs earned him a world record in the Guinness Book of Records was never likely to disappoint.

In a programme in which variations played a prominent role, the challenges were many, not least to the listener who was charged with following them. Yet such was the mastery with which Mr. Howard executed them that there was never a moment when clarity was lost.

Indeed, clarity was a by-word throughout his performance. No matter how complex or labrynthine the score, each note shone brilliantly -- a star in its own right, and an important component in a breathtaking firmament of sound.

Yet the remarkable thing was that Mr. Howard was neither a "pounder'' nor a "bobber and swayer.'' He played strictly from the arms and fingers, while his tall frame remained absolutely still. This meant that there was no visual distraction to contend with -- a real boon to serious listeners.

The programme began with "Eight Variations on `A Woman is the Most Marvellous Thing' (from Shack's "The Dumb Gardener'').'' Written in the last year of his life, this was vintage Mozart: a work which flowed like a bubbling stream, its sprightly passages filled with charm, mellifluousness, occasional quietude, and dashes of drama -- all of which the artist captured to perfection.

Beethoven's "Sonatina in G minor, Op. 79,'' which followed, began brightly and never faltered. Big-hearted, joyous and exuberant, yet with a pulse that beat beneath it like a faithful heart, it evoked the sensation of being borne along on a glorious, unstoppable tide with the very best of captains at the helm.

Using the above Sonatina's same opening theme, Beethoven wrote the completely different Sonata in E major, Op. 109 eleven years later, and it was this which Mr. Howard chose to end the first half of his programme.

An expressive work whose flowing passages are filled with exquisite tonal gradations, contrasting moods, and great beauty, it conjures up visions of a magical journey into a world where the wonders of nature -- storms, cool breezes, dancing butterflies, bubbling streams among them -- are blended into an harmonious whole.

Here again, the artist's superb technical mastery and deep understanding of the composer's intentions led to a reading which was both thoughtful and beguiling.

Apparently an incurable perfectionist, Schumann wrote, re-jigged, discarded and resurrected a group of studies which ultimately became known as the "Etudes symphoniques, Op. 13,'' and could just as easily have been termed variations, as the pianist noted.

With what he termed "the final version, which I have never heard anyone play'', Mr. Howard embarked upon the opening work of his post-interval performance having explained that, while the Etudes explored "some technical and musical problems'', Schumann's principal interest was in "musical poetics rather than pyrotechnics''.

What then followed was one of the most fabulous experiences a listener could wish for. In the music there was everything to make the spirit soar and the soul to rejoice in the gift of life. In the musician, there was sheer wonder -- that so much talent could be vested in one man, and that tiny Bermuda should be given an opportunity to share even a modicum of it.

And yet, for some the best was still to come. With Liszt's brilliant"Fantasy on themes from Mozart's operas, `The Marriage of Figaro' and `Don Giovanni','' the visiting virtuoso set a final, spectacular seal on a performance which will be remembered as much for its breathtaking technical mastery as its superlative interpretative powers.

Despite the unfathomable absence of a richly-deserved standing ovation (the Saturday night audience had more sense!), and an exhausting programme, Mr.

Howard generously bestowed an encore -- the dreamy Variation by Liszt on Chopin's song, "My Joy'' -- before taking his leave.