Five O’Clock Favorite

Hosted by
Christa Wessel

Five O’Clock Favorite

Every weekday at 5:00 PM PT

Every weekday at 5:00 PM PT, All Classical Radio and host Christa Wessel invite listeners to be part of the programming. During the Five O’Clock Favorite, you’ll hear a listener-suggested piece of music along with a personal story about their choice. With pieces that are fun and familiar, music for remembrance and reflection, and everything in between, the Five O’Clock Favorite is a perfect way to ease your commute, end your workday, or start off your evening soundtrack on All Classical Radio. 

graphic for five o clock fav

Your Host
Christa Wessel

Weekdays at 5:00, you’ll find me in my happy place on the radio: sharing your Five O’Clock Favorite. This special program is an opportunity for me to celebrate listeners’ memories and favorite pieces of classical music. Our stories connect us to each other, and this daily segment allows us to hear what’s in the hearts of our friends and neighbors. I hope you’ll submit your suggestion for a future Five O’Clock Favorite!

Christa Wessel
woman with glasses sitting on a blue couch, leaning slightly forward — Photo by Christine Dong

Submit your favorite piece:
Suggestions are easiest to honor if they’re 20 minutes or less.

Recent Favorites

Air date: September 9, 2026

Variations on a Korean Folk Song, John Barnes Chance

Suggested by Eric in Beaverton, Oregon

Many years ago I played the tuba in the Bay Area Wind Symphony and even got to tour Japan with them. Our encore piece was "Variations on a Korean Folk Song" by John Barnes Chance. I would love it if you can play that as a 5:00 Favorite for us all to enjoy.

Air date: September 8, 2026

Facile-Batiste (on Mozart’s K. 545 Sonata in C), Mozart / Batiste

Suggested by Lee in Portland, Oregon

I cannot begin to express how much I enjoyed Kate Remington's online interview with Jon Batiste about his new album, "Black Mozart." Thank you thank you for posting that on your blog! I was particularly taken with Jon's description of his adaptations as "simply adding more colors to the palette" of Mozart's music. His ability to think outside of "genres," and just think in terms of the universal language of music is truly beautiful. I especially liked that he said that Mozart's music wasn't called "classical" back then... it was just "music."

Air date: September 7, 2026

Reflections in the Water, Claude Debussy

Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon

It reminds me of fall when the leaves come gently flowing down to the ground. It's a good way to forget about work especially if it was a bad day because the next day's going to be better.

Air date: September 3, 2026

Minuet in G, Opus 14, No. 1, Ignace Jan Paderewski

Suggested by Donald in Fairview, Oregon

This piece was in one of my mother's books of favorite classical music. I couldn't ever play the piece myself, but I always found it very beautiful, and would love to hear it played for the 5:00 Favorite.

Air date: September 2, 2026

The Face of Another: Waltz, Toru Takemitsu

Suggested by Rachel in Silverton, Oregon

This became a favorite after hearing it on All Classical years ago while running a Christmas tree farm in Silverton!

Air date: September 1, 2026

Five Orchestral Meditations: No. 5, The Lord bless you and keep you, John Rutter

Suggested by Ursula in Portland, Oregon

It has been now 3 months since I sent my beloved Savannah Kitty over that Rainbow Bridge. It was late at night as I watched her slipping away. Then I became aware of the music playing in the background. I recognized it as the 5 Meditations of John Rutter. The last meditation, the 5th, was playing. With tears I realized it was set to the Priestly Prayer: The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. This memory is now forever etched in music within my heart.

Air date: August 31, 2026

Turandot: Nessun Dorma! (Let no one Sleep), Giacomo Puccini

Suggested by Ken in Camas, Washington

I have especially appreciated those Five O'Clock Favorites that have been in memory of a loved one.
Our son Elliot grew up loving music; it was always a big part of his life. He appreciated those piano lessons and the family outings to the Portland Opera as a youngster. As a teen, he gravitated more towards the electric guitar and drums and reveled in those genres popular with his age group. He enjoyed jamming with friends and was in several garage bands. For a season, he even contemplated seeing if he could make a living in music.
He came of age in the days of MySpace, and that platform had a distinctive feature: you could configure a script of music to play whenever someone visited your profile page. I smiled knowingly at the comments left by some of his friends when they visited—“Wow! That was surprising. And beautiful!” was a typical comment. It was Pavarotti singing Puccini’s Nessun Dorma. Elliot seemed to appreciate great music no matter what the genre. In this masterful aria, Puccini gives utterance to that emotion struggling dumbly within us for expression, that of irrepressible love for another.
Elliot ultimately met the love of his life, Tamara, and they married in 2022. Theirs seemed to be a match made in heaven. They were true soul mates.
But it was not to last. In 2024, Elliot’s life came to a sudden and tragic end at the age of 38. He left behind not only his grieving wife and large family, including eight siblings, but also countless friends, coworkers, and fellow music lovers.
Today, when I hear Nessun Dorma, it takes me back to an earlier time, when Elliot’s friends were struck by this magnificent expression of a young man’s love for a woman. It gives me a reason to smile.
And so, let us hear it again: Luciano Pavarotti singing Puccini’s Nessun Dorma, in memory of Elliot, and in tribute to his loving wife Tamara.

Air date: August 28, 2026

The Typewriter, Leroy Anderson

Suggested by Lance in Portland, Oregon

I would like to hear The Typewriter by Leroy Anderson because it's a very unique piece of music. Most millennials will not get the pleasure of learning how to type using a typewriter. I recall seeing The Typewriter performed live on Evening at Pops on PBS. Leroy Anderson conducted and Arthur Fiedler performed the "twitch" sound effect of the typewriter. I credit two people, Arthur Fiedler and my own father as the reason I like Classical Music so much.

Air date: August 27, 2026

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F: 1. Allegro, Dmitri Shostakovich

Suggested by Kelsey in Portland, Oregon

Disney's Fantasia 2000 sparked my love of classical music when I was a kid. I still love all of the pieces of music used in the film, but I have a particular soft spot for this one because it's not quite as famous as the others. The sweet animated segment from the movie, about a tin soldier and a ballerina figurine, plays frame-by-frame in my head every time I listen to the piece!

Air date: August 26, 2026

Piano Sonata in E minor: II. Andante molto, Edvard Grieg

Suggested by Dave in Federal Way, Washington

Over fifty years ago, when I was still in middle school, I received the "International Library of Piano Music" as a Christmas gift. It's still one of my go-to collections to find common and not-so-common pieces from any given era.
As I was going through Volume 6, one of the Romantic era books, I ran across this, Grieg's only sonata. I've long had a fascination with his music, especially his chord progressions, and the sonata captured my heart right away. Yet I can recall hearing only one recording of it -- it certainly doesn't get the attention his concerto does!
I especially like the second movement, the Andante molto, written in a major key but with liberal use of V minor chords. I'm not a prolific composer, and my output isn't worthy of attention, but this particular chord structure is one I've worked into probably about half of my own pieces, and I think it started with this movement.

Air date: August 25, 2026

Pride and Prejudice: Dawn, Dario Marianelli

Suggested by Stella in Portland, Oregon

This movie means very much to me; I’ve been watching it since I was a baby, and I’ve heard the beautiful score so many times that it kind of feels like a part of me. I never get tired of listening to this piece, it’s just so lovely.

Air date: August 24, 2026

Crux Fidelis (arr. “Ombra mai fu” from Xerxes), George Frideric Handel

Suggested by Tom & Anne in Forest Grove, Oregon

We celebrated our 57th anniversary on August 15. We first heard this piece sung by the Rift Valley (Kenya) Academy Choir. When we married in Rockford, Michigan, this was chosen as the processional for our ceremony because of its beauty and gravity.

Air date: August 21, 2026

October, Eric Whitacre

Suggested by Andy in Portland, Oregon

While attending Ohio University School of Music, I had the honor and privilege of playing this piece while being conducted by the composer, Eric Whitacre. He did a week long residency at the university, and at the conclusion of his stay, the Ohio University Wind Ensemble (which I was a member of in the tuba section) performed this work with Mr. Whitacre on the podium. It was the most emotionally uplifting musical experience I have ever had.

Air date: August 20, 2026

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Claude Debussy

Suggested by Joe in Portland, Oregon

I've always been intoxicated by this piece of music. I think it has something to do with the solo flute which starts the piece with a largely chromatic scale, down and back up, which sets the mood for the rest of the piece... magical, dreamy, almost ethereal.

Air date: August 19, 2026

Rusalka: Song to the Moon, Antonin Dvorak

Suggested by Josy in Hillsboro, Oregon

When I was struggling to finish my college senior year thesis, I heard this aria -arranged for cello- and was moved. It helped me finish my project and became my favorite classical song. I didn't grow up listening to classical music, so hearing this piece and feeling connected to it inspired me to attend ballets and tune into this station!

Air date: August 18, 2026

William Tell Overture, Gioacchino Rossini

Suggested by Rowan in Beaverton, Oregon

I used to watch old westerns with my great-grandpa. One of his favorite shows was The Lone Ranger, which used this song as its main theme for the opening. It always makes me smile and think of sitting and watching black and white cowboys riding their horses into the sunset. I miss him everyday, he is the reason for my intense love for westerns.

Air date: August 17, 2026

Three Gymnopedies, Erik Satie

Suggested by Scott in Livermore, California

A story from Christa:
I was walking my dog this weekend and crossed paths with a man named Scott, who was walking a sweet dog belonging to his grandkids. Scott and I struck up a conversation while our pups were running around and I learned that he is an architect in the East Bay area in California, and is visiting his family here in Portland. We got to talking about favorite composers and Scott told me his is Erik Satie... and answer I didn't expect. We then chatted about artists like Satie and Picasso who pushed the boundaries of their mediums in the years before WWI. Scott mentioned a book titled "The Banquet Years," which studies four key artists: the composer Erik Satie, the writer Alfred Jarry, the painter Henri Rousseau, and the poet Guillaume Apollinaire. Scott said that book is what made him begin to appreciate Satie, so this 5:00 Favorite is for him.

Air date: August 14, 2026

Piano Concerto No. 1, Tchaikovsky (arr. Freddy Martin & His Orchestra)

Suggested by Jack in Depoe Bay, Oregon

As a child growing up in the early 1940's my parents frequently played a record of the Freddy Martin Orchestra's hit "Tonight We Love." I later learned the music was from Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto #1." I believe my appreciation for and enjoyment of classical music was fostered first by the Freddy Martin recording and then the theme music of the many radio and early TV programs I listened to growing up in the 40's and early 50's. As I became more exposed to classical music, hearing pieces in which I recognized the theme songs of these programs was a revelation.

Air date: August 13, 2026

Scheherazade: Festival at Baghdad – The Sea – The Ship Goes to Pieces…, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Suggested by Lynn in Portland, Oregon

My uncle Natey didn't have children. I was the beneficiary of his love. The love he showed me included classical music. I was probably six years old when he played Scheherazade on his mono record player. It took my breath away. After that first time, we listened to it often. And now? When I hear Scheherazade, it still takes my breath away. And it always reminds me of Uncle Natey's love.

Air date: August 12, 2026

Transcendental Etude No. 5: Feux Follets (Will-o’-the-Wisps), Franz Liszt

Suggested by Everett in Forest Grove, Oregon

One of my favorite pieces! I love that it is so difficult; it's said to be the hardest song to play in the world! Makes you see why they say Liszt is a level 10 pianist (hardest level)! Thank you! :)

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