i'm sure that last comment pissed a few people off. meh.

i think it's a fairly unobjectionable statement, actually. you could make the argument that it's a concerto, and i guess i'd say "ok, but a piano concerto is not a piece for solo piano", and that is what the ravel piece often actually is, in actuality.

there are some points where it blows up, sure.

but, if you watch the video, even the conductor gets bored near the end, he's just kind of standing there, like he's in a shoegaze band, or something, waving his little baton around like he just watched the german hockey team get walloped by the canadian squad.

"15-0. great. give me another schnitzel."

self-indulgent is actually the right way to describe a piece like this, that allows the lead instrument to delve into these long passages that bore everybody to tears.

that said, the focus of the piece is the first part of it, and this is a compelling piece of music when it wants to be.

but, they could really chop a good section out of it. 

i've always found this piece to be a little bit self-indulgent, honestly, but it's not awful and i won't skip it.

this is a particularly obtuse piece by stravinsky, who is known for his obtuse pieces.