Tales From the MoJo Road –
By Glynn Wilson –
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – When I heard the news that Les Marsden’s Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra would be performing in Yosemite in the Ahwahnee Hotel’s Great Lounge, my heart leapt.
After meeting Mr. Marsden at an economic development community meeting in Coulterville not long after arriving in California in the fall of 2025, I so wanted to see the orchestra perform in Yosemite last December. But it was not to be. For health reasons, the show was canceled.
So there was no way I was going to miss it this year, even with more than two feet of snow forecast in the high elevations of the Sierra mountains. Knowing that tire chains would be required to drive over the high pass into the park from here, we all decided to make the treacherous drive to Mariposa and ride the National Park Service YART bus to the park.
Since this was my first time to take the Mariposa route into Yosemite, I was pleasantly surprised to find such a scenic drive up into the mountains following the Merced River all the way.
We arrived early, so took the time to tour the park museum, then rode around the valley in the free NPS shuttle, marveling at the views of the giant granite structures covered in snow.
We still arrived at the Ahwahnee early for the show, so got great back stage seats where we could watch the director at work.
Yosemite Museum
The Repertoire
I’m no expert critic of classical music, so I will just report that all three pieces performed in the show originated from the Slavic region of Russia and Bohemian/Czech lands.
Josef Suk: Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 25 (1903)
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 (1909)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from the opera Le Coq d’Or (The Golden Cockerel)
- Josef Suk: Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 25
Background & Lineage: Josef Suk (1874–1935) was a leading Czech composer, the most important student of Antonín Dvořák, and eventually Dvořák’s son-in-law after marrying his daughter, Otýlie, in 1898. His musical lineage deeply influenced Czech modernism (such as Leoš Janáček). His descendants also became prominent musicians, including his great-grandson, renowned violinist Josef Suk IV (1929–2011).
The Music: Composed during a period of immense personal happiness (1902–1903), the Scherzo Fantastique is an imaginative, highly orchestrated piece featuring a lively, jittery “A” theme and a gorgeous, ascending waltz-like “B” theme in the cellos and violins. It incorporates traditional Czech rhythmic devices like hemiolas and utilizes rondo-like structural returns.
Tragedy and Shift in Style: Following the composition of this work, Suk suffered a devastating double blow: the death of his mentor Dvořák in 1904, followed closely by the tragic death of his wife Otýlie in 1905 at age 27. This profound grief reshaped Suk’s compositional style, leading to masterworks exploring mortality and existence, most notably the Asrael Symphony. (Notably, Suk also won a silver medal in the music category at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics for his march Towards a New Life).
- Sergei Rachmaninoff: Isle of the Dead, Op. 29
Background: Born into Russian aristocracy in 1873, Rachmaninoff possessed legendary 6’6″ height and massive hands capable of reaching a 13th on the piano keyboard. After early training, a traumatic premiere of his First Symphony in 1897—conducted poorly by an intoxicated Alexander Glazunov—sent the young composer into a severe depression and writer’s block. He successfully recovered in 1900 via hypnotherapy sessions with Dr. Nikolai Dahl, paving the way for his mature masterpieces. (He later married his first cousin, Natalya Satina, after navigating strict church and imperial hurdles).
The Music: Unlike absolute music, Isle of the Dead (1909) is program music directly inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s evocative symbolist painting of the same name. Considered one of Rachmaninoff’s greatest and most atmospheric masterworks, it captures a haunting, deeply reflective journey across dark waters.
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from Le Coq d’Or (The Golden Cockerel)
The program concludes with Rimsky-Korsakov’s exotic and brilliant orchestral suite drawn from his final opera, Le Coq d’Or, bringing a rich splash of Russian nationalist flair to the end of the concert weekend.
Video
For a more detailed description, check this link out.
More on Les Marsden here.
Related Coverage
Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra Kicks Off 25th Year With Concert in the Ahwahnee Hotel
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