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.
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!
Submit your favorite piece:
Suggestions are easiest to honor if they’re 20 minutes or less.
Many years ago, on my 40th birthday, I treated myself to my first solo trip to Alaska, in late August. which is fall in central Alaska. I brought along several classical music cassettes (yes, it was that long ago). On one side was Brahms' Symphony 2 and the other side were Brahms' Schiksalslied (Song of Destiny,) Gesang der Parzen, and the Alto Rhapsody. I had enjoyed the symphony but rarely turned the tape over to hear the choral music ... until one incredibly memorable late afternoon when I drove the Denali Highway, a 135 mile (then mostly) gravel road between Cantwell and Paxson. As far as I can remember, I never passed anyone - I was the only person on that lonely road as the afternoon light faded.
To the north, across the tundra plain, lit by a golden light was the magnificent Alaska Range, partly obscured by clouds, in shades of grey, blue, purple and snowy white. All around me was the vast Alaska wilderness. Slowly as the light faded a few starts began to glimmer. There was no sign of humanity - except the road itself. As I drove east I played the Schicksalied, Gesang der Parzen and the Alto Rhapsody, which seemed to capture my mood - a bit of lonely melancholy, but also joy, awe and reverence for nature. The symphony and all three choral works are now deeply associated with that first Alaska experience. My request is to hear the Alto Rhapsody, which most closely captured the shifting moods of shadow and light, melancholy reverence, and joy