Bermuda passed another musical milestone at the weekend when 25 of the Island's leading musicians, calling themselves the Daylesford Sinfonia, gathered onstage at City Hall for an introductory concert under the banner of the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society.

The absence of a conductor (violinist Joan Stewart leading the ensemble) underlined the informality of a group who get together on Sunday afternoons to play the music they love. There was nothing casual, however, about the quality of their music which, in this first `outing', was devoted to Mozart.

As the merrily limpid melodies of `The Marriage of Figaro' Overture reverberated through a packed theatre, it was obvious that we were in for a superlative evening of music -- and so it proved.

One of the most lyrical of all of Mozart's piano concertos, the A major (K.488), with its perfectly sustained "conversation'' between piano and orchestra, was an ideal choice for the group's chamber-like approach. It was written in 1786 when Mozart's creative activity was, even by his standards, almost at fever pitch -- in the period of less than a year, he had composed two other piano concertos, a violin sonata and smaller works besides completing `The Marriage of Figaro'.

Susan Soehner, who teaches at the Bermuda Conservatory of Music, was the soloist in this perennial favourite. Joining the orchestra in the first, gorgeously melodic theme, she gave an accomplished, eloquent and even radiant, account of a work that brims, as always, with astonishing invention. From its relatively simple beginning, full of brightness and grace, the slow movement, played with fine sensitivity of phrasing, shifts to one of pensive tenderness, the prevailing (and familiar) melody being one of aching beauty. In a show of fine rapport in which the solo piano shimmers above dreamy strings that are joined by flute, clarinets and bassoons, Soehner was in full command. In a mercurial change of mood, the final movement, suffused with gossamer-like modulations, becomes a swift and gay rondo -- again, managed by the soloist and the orchestra with consummate ease and lyricism. Sadly, this was probably Susan Soehner's last concert performance in Bermuda, as she is due to leave here this summer. She will be greatly missed.

The `Haffner' Symphony (No. 35 in D), extracted from an earlier suite and named for a fellow townsman of Salzburg, was written, apparently, in about two weeks in 1782. "Loudly applauded'' in Vienna, this festive and regal work remains one of the greatest in the symphonic genre. The Daylesford Sinfonia, apart from some tremulously timed entries in the wind section, gave a spirited and wonderfully assured performance, from the opening movement with its march-like rhythms, through the mellow slow movement, followed by an elegant minuet theme and into an upliftingly happy finale.

To borrow a quote from Mozart who wrote to his father, in reference to the `Haffner', that (its first movement) "should strike real fire'', this new group certainly set its Sunday audience on fire. The arrival of the Menuhin Foundation and other instrumental teachers have elevated the status of Island music to heights undreamed of here twenty years ago -- a fact that was demonstrated in spectacular fashion at this thrilling debut concert.

PATRICIA CALNAN MOVING ABROAD -- Pianist Susan Soehner Graphic file name: PIWOMA