I remember when I was a young student at The Scottish Academy of Music asking my professor who he thought was the greatest pianist of the century, and he replied without blinking an eye -- "Horowitz''.

With such a gallery of greatness to choose from he justified his choice briefly with four words, "subtlety -- refinement -- sheer magic!'' I understood even then what he meant, for although there were thousands of people streaming out of Academies and Conservatories with virtuosic techniques, the number who would make it to the top was very small indeed.

There had to be "magic''.

I feel that this young man Artur Pizarro has that special ingredient. One has to work at it of course. In music there is no easy way, but the essence is in reaching in and touching the very heart of the music, which in this very intimate concert, Pizarro did with consummate artistry.

I was impressed with much of his choice of music. Concentrating on the Romantics, he declined the easy path to glory, avoiding Liszt until his final encore, and began with 14 comparatively simple pieces "Bunte -- Blatter'' by Robert Schumann. These are poetic cameos, each imbued with the literary intellectualism of their creator, each a miniature masterpiece requiring the most delicate phrasing, careful pedalling and subtle pianissimo, the latter a hallmark of Pizarro's playing. These were splendid, their beauty flawed only by embarrassing external forces -- the coughing and spluttering of the audience.

It's a pity that the festival coincides with the 'flu season on the Island.

Fortunately Mr. Pizarro refused to be overwhelmed and the assembled throng eventually seemed to get itself more or less under control. Had he been playing the Beethoven "Hammerklavier'' it might have gone unnoticed but unfortunately no such luck with the Schumann. Without a break for applause the 14 pieces required total silence from start to finish. They were brilliant nevertheless -- wonderful playing.

I do feel, however, the soloist would have done well to contrast this introverted cycle with something a little more fiery than "The Suite Bergamasque'' by Debussy. There was, granted, a more declamatory style offered in the opening "Prelude'' but the "Menuet'' and "Clair de Lune'' were of course muted in mood again. The only opportunity to raise the dynamic range of his playing here would have been in the final "Passpied''. However, Mr.

Pizarro chose a gentler path and "The Suite'' ended with that sense of tranquillity which was the all pervading mood of the very poetic first half of his programme.

The rise of the Paris "grand opera'' in the early 19th century led to virtuosos of the age like Liszt and Thalberg composing and playing brilliant fantasies, medleys and variations on current grand opera successes. So popular were these musical inventions that a book of motifs from a favourite of the time "Robert Le Diable'' were arranged for "non-Liszts to fumble with''.

That transcriptions did not represent eloquent musical expression need not be said. Much of the 19th century was devoted to the writing of virtuosic musical rubbish, and most of it has fortunately been forgotten. Happily for us there was a Chopin, and though he was not above taking part in a musical circus -- he once played in a concert organised by Kalkbrenner for six pianists advertised as "A Concert for Sixty Fingers'' -- he was a genius who understood that virtuosic technique is only a means to an end.

Chopin was unique, an innovator whose personal contribution to the solo piano repertoire in his waltzes, nocturnes, preludes, ballads and mazurkas cannot be measured. His sonatas and concerti are quite magnificent and he even took the sometimes dull and lowly piano study and transformed it into a work of great beauty. He wrote two sets of studies and it was with the Etudes Opus 25, the second set, that Mr. Pizarro chose to fill the rest of his programme.

He performed these with great passion, his playing echoing the very essence of Chopin and his tormented life. This was particularly so in the last three great works of the set, the octave study in B minor the superb "Winter Winds'' and the final C minor arpeggio study -- a stunning climax to a superb performance.

The enthusiastic audience was treated to, as well as Liszt as an encore, the fiendishly difficult Toccata from "Le Tombeau de Couperin'' by Ravel.

This was an excellent recital. I find it difficult to believe that this young man with his commanding technique and musical maturity is only 24 years old.

We were indeed fortunate to have him as a soloist in this year's Bermuda Festival.

MARJORIE PETTIT ARTUR PIZARRO -- touched the very heart of his music with consummate artistry.