Wanderer Fantasy - SchubertFive Pieces (1987) - Leon Kirchner Preludes Op 28 - ChopinThere's a view about that American pianists are an insensitive breed, more muscular than sensitive, too athletic for their own good. Max Levinson, winner of last year's Guardian Dublin International Piano Competition, is American, and lists the supremely athletic Vladimir Horowitz and Martha Argerich among his musical heroes, along with the likes of Glenn Gould, Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie. But, as Levinson's performances at last May's competition suggested and his recital at the NCH on Saturday confirmed, he has too strong a vein of introversion to conform fully to the brash extroversion of the transatlantic stereotype.That's not to say he's without fire in his belly. The heat could clearly be felt on Saturday in Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, where the flames sometimes blew a bit high and a bit loose, and anyone who heard him in the competition semi-finals will attest to the climactic surging of his Liszt Sonata in B minor.The wound-up-and-let-go sensation of Levinson in full flight, however, is both less persuasive and less precise than Levinson when he sets out to shape music on a more intimate scale. This may well be because his primary interest appears to be in the linear, the melodic. With the notes flying, the basic thrust of his vision can get lost in the clutter.He's prepared to go the full distance with his particular vision. He applies it as readily to the Five Pieces of Leon Kirchner (under who he has played in concerto and for who he has played these Five Pieces) as to the Preludes of Chopin, where the harmonic content is often turned into a bland, distant background so that the melody can stand out in unchallenged relief. In this particular practice, as heard on Saturday, lie both strength and weakness. The strength is one of individuality, often expressed through finely-controlled tone and unexpected shades of colouring. The weakness is that the view takes too little account of the actual character of the material. It's not really very rewarding for everything to be turned into a tune, even when the point of the music lies elsewhere. For all the impressive array of resources Levinson has at his disposal, the results can be a bit bland, or as the pop reviewers used to say about follow-ups, a bit samey.