Barrett Reynolds:

>I don't know if it's the composer himself, or just a personal hang-up
>of mine, but for no apparent reason, I just can't get into the music of
>Maurice Ravel.

OF COURSE it's your personal hangup.  After all, there are people who don't
have this problem.  But that's what personal taste is.  No one can reasonably
tell you that you MUST like chocolate.

>I love the opening of Bolero, but by the end, the piece seems to be weighed
>down by way too much brass, and loses its sense of buoyancy.

A legitimate point. But this raises the question of what Ravel you've heard.
He's got plenty of light, buoyant music (at least compared to Bolero).  I
recommend:

Le Tombeau de Couperin (orchestral version)
Introduction and Allegro for harp and chamber ensemble
Ma Mere l'Oye (either piano or orchestral version)
Piano Concerto in G
String Quartet in F
Don Quichotte a Dulcinee

It also matters what performance you've heard.  If you're interested in
pursuing this, I can recommend performances.

>Am I alone in my indifference toward Ravel?  Is there something seriously
>wrong with me?

Probably not.

>Does anybody else have an example of a highly respected composer whom they
>feel may be overrated?

This really isn't the right question to ask.  I'm sure we all have examples.
I, for example, get bored out of my mind by a great deal of Verdi.  But all
this means is that we're clueless about the music.  We have no idea why other
people enjoy it, which, it seems to me, is the most important thing to know
about any work of art.

Steve Schwartz