Bermuda was showcased to a radio audience of hundreds of thousands on Sunday as the Princess group of hotels once again sponsored a live broadcast to the US.

This time, the listeners were among the approximately 950,000 New Yorkers who tune in to Manhattan-based WQXR-FM -- "America's preeminent classical music station'' -- on a weekly basis.

The broadcast -- some four hours long -- was heard in New York between 9 a.m.

and 1 p.m.

It consisted of a classical music programme that was interspersed with frequent two-minute commentaries by programme host Mr. Thomas J. Bartunek.

Mr. Bartunek, who is also WQXR's programming director, had tailored the mostly spontaneous broadcast to reflect his Island surroundings, including selections by recent Bermuda Festival visitor Sir Yehudi Menuhin, "a lot of British music'' and many seashore-themed works.

Referring to his broadcast site at the Princess Hotel -- which was named for Queen Victoria's daughter Louise -- he also played such pieces as Waltz For A Princess, Victoria and Merry England and Arthur Sullivan's Princess Ida.

"As someone who is an Anglophile,'' said Mr. Bartunek, "I was particularly interested in the origins of the Princess Hotel. I also hope to visit the Anglican Cathedral, and climb to the top of its tower.'' During his broadcast, the former English teacher turned disc jockey tried to "paint a mental picture'' of the Island for his listeners.

Earlier, he had described Bermuda and particularly Hamilton as alternately British, Mediterranean and tropical.

"It (Bermuda) is not quite what I expected,'' said Mr. Bartunek, a first-time visitor to the Island and an avid player of golf. "While it's hard to characterise in a single way, it is rich in every sense of the word and very interesting. It is for people who want to be interested, who want to be engaged.'' Pointing out the Island's famous spotlessness and a "friendliness that would make most New Yorkers suspicious,'' he added: "I see a lot of pride in Bermuda -- people who have a lot of self-esteem and are happy with what they're doing. There is great substance here.'' Ms Judy Blatman, director of public relations for Princess Hotels International, said that WQXR, which is owned by the New York Times, was chosen to host the latest Bermuda broadcast on the strength of its cachet in the industry and the make-up of its audience.

According to Mr. Bartunek, the average WQXR listener is the type of traveller who will spend more than $5,000 a year on vacations.

He also characterised his audience as outspoken and opinionated.

WQXR, which is one of the best-known radio stations in the classical music field, is the third mass-market media outlet to air live from Bermuda of late.

In August, Mr. Stan Martin of New York-based WQEW-AM, a sister station of WQXR's, beamed a live broadcast to some 500,000 listeners from the Princess.

During the same month, Mr. Dave Conant of WFLN-FM in Philadelphia aired two live shows from the Whaler Inn at the Southampton Princess.

Both New York and Philadelphia are two of Bermuda's biggest tourism markets.

BERMUDA BROADCAST -- Mr. Thomas J. Bartunek.