Programs & Hosts

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: October 28, 2025

Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major, Joseph Haydn

Suggested by Philip in Lake Oswego, Oregon

This is one of the earliest pieces of classical music I remember hearing as a child. I remember the LP cover distinctly: purple background with musicians dressed in period clothing sitting on the bars of music that stretched across from left to right. The album also contained a Mozart French Horn concerto (your preferred instrument I believe Christa?) that shared the same bright liveliness of the brass, with a stick-in-your ear melody, and kettle drums to boot! Hearing it brings tears to my eyes thinking of the joy my dad took in this music, and it is also one of my favorite Sunday morning pieces. Thank you!

Air date: October 27, 2025

Let It Be, Lennon & McCartney

Suggested by Anne in Portland, Oregon

I saw Anderson and & Roe recently as part of Portland Piano International's Boundless Concert Series and was so inspired by their creativity. I was also touched by how much they love Portland and wanted to be here. The unspoken context was support for our community while the support for the arts seems to be waning.

Air date: October 17, 2025

Os Justi, Anton Bruckner

Suggested by Joshua in Forest Grove, Oregon

I am a choral singer of some 25 years (since my early teens in high school) and I feel like I've been exposed to so many composers and styles of music - lots of the usual suspects like Bach, Mozart, Palestrina. I have been fortunate to perform works by 20th century composers and even living composers from the Pacific Northwest. I have never really known of Anton Bruckner's choral music - which is an oversight. This piece was a surprise that came up on a playlist of some other works and it stopped me in my tracks today at work. It is uncommonly beautiful and gorgeous. I was moved deeply and I can confidently say it is one of my new favorite pieces.

Air date: October 16, 2025

Nocturne Op. 19 for flute, violin, cello, and piano, Franz Doppler

Suggested by Lin in Salem, Oregon

I believe this is one of the hidden gems of classical music. I had never known this composer until discovering this piece. This music is both serene and uplifting in a beautiful way that sets it apart. It may not be in the most traditional classical style, but it's an example of Franz Doppler's own compositional aura, which I find lovely. It's very classical, but with refreshing and unique qualities that make it extra special. And I believe this piece might be a new discovery to most listeners. I hope all will enjoy the shimmering melodic notes from the flute and the harmonious nature of all four instruments producing this exquisite quartet.

Air date: October 15, 2025

Requiem For A Dream: Lux Aeterna, Clint Mansell

Suggested by Gabriela in Beaverton, Oregon

Clint Mansell’s Lux Aeterna is played in the movie “Requiem for a Dream” directed by Darren Aronofsky. It’s a movie my partner and I thoroughly enjoy, and it has popped in our heads more often than we care to admit.

Air date: October 14, 2024

A River Runs Through It: In Half-Light Of The Canyon, Mark Isham

Suggested by Stephanie in Portland, Oregon

This is one of my favorite movies I watched in high school. The minute I heard this song (and the whole soundtrack really) I dreamed of living a life surrounded with experiences that made me feel the way this song did. Soon after graduating, I chased a dream all the way to Missoula, MT. And one day I sat in the half light of a canyon, surrounded by untamed wildness and beauty, and felt every bit of what this song encapsulated. I moved back to Oregon 3 years ago and have been chasing that feeling ever since. Then the love of my life walked through the door, and I felt it once more. I hope you enjoy!

Air date: October 13, 2025

The Four Seasons: Spring, Antonio Vivaldi

Suggested by Nancy in West Linn, Oregon

My husband Roy and I just celebrated our 40th anniversary and I’ve been wanting to suggest this. I walked down the aisle to this piece suggesting the spring of new life together beginning and also because we loved the joy of the whole piece.

Air date: October 10, 2025

Ave Maria, Franz Biebl

Suggested by Brad in Lake Oswego, Oregon

Franz Biebl combines the austere solemnity of chant with the lush harmony of late romanticism, and the results are beautiful... especially in the hands of Chanticleer!

Air date: October 9, 2025

Cantus Arcticus: Concerto for Birds and Orchestra: 1. The Bog, Einojuhani Rautavaara

Suggested by Steve in Portland, Oregon

This work is for taped arctic bird songs together with the symphony orchestra. The bird sings were recorded in northern Finland. The more I listen to it, the more intrigued I am, and the more it becomes part of my musical thoughts. It opens with various instruments trying to emulate the bird songs. The music sometimes sounds romantic, sometimes impressionistic, sometimes rich, sometimes sparse. As I listen, I can imagine the landscapes of the far north, the Arctic, as the title suggests.

Air date: October 8, 2025

Piano Quintet in E flat: 1. Allegro brillante, Robert Schumann

Suggested by Charlyn in Tualatin, Oregon

Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet was the first chamber music piece I fell in love with. And as a violist, it has remained a definite favorite! When I was in junior high, my viola/violin teacher and her piano teacher husband held a summer music camp, at a boarding school on a farm in the foothills of the Sierras. The barn had been converted into a performance space. So I remember hearing the Schumann played there, by my friends Danny, Rob, Loal, Tim and Phil. Such special and warm memories!

Air date: October 7, 2025

Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo, Pietro Mascagni

Suggested by Morris in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

This gorgeous Intermezzo is sad but extremely beautiful as the orchestra foretells the tragedy that is to come in the second half if this short opera.

Air date: October 6, 2025

Symphony No. 3, Op. 78 “Organ”: Finale, Camille Saint-Saens

Suggested by Kelcey in Portland, Oregon

I first saw the movie called “Babe” when I was in my 40s. And it touched me so much to follow the sweet-natured pig through all the perils of piglet life. The piglet falls ill just before the annual sheep herding competition in which it is entered. The farmer tries to nurse him back to health and inspires hope and life in the pig by singing and dancing for him to this symphony. The movie is about unlikely understanding between species and trust, loyalty, and love. And I always feel uplifted and inspired when I hear it. I still watch the movie occasionally when I need cheering up. Do watch it yourself. You’d love it. It’s very funny, as well.

Air date: October 2, 2025

Gustaviansk Suite, Lars-Erik Larsson

Suggested by Julia in Yuma, Arizona

Several times now, I've heard this lovely, haunting piece played on All Classical and immediately found that it spoke to my deepest heart. I was unable to find a version on You Tube and this piece wasn't even mentioned on the composer's Wikipedia page. I wanted to know more and Ultimately, my research revealed to me that the Gustaviansk Suite was composed during the war years of 1943-44 and the term "Gustaviansk" indicates a style reminiscent of the Gustavian era of 18th-century Sweden.

The first movement, Entrada, is particularly what I'd love to hear but it would be great to hear the whole thing.

Air date: October 1, 2025

Pavane For A Dead Princess, Maurice Ravel

Suggested by Terence in Portland, Oregon

As a teenager, I suffered from undiagnosed and untreated depression. Nonetheless, I had come to love classical music by listening to my parents' old 78s and playing flute in band and orchestra. One Christmas my folks gave me the Philadelphia Orchestra's album "Ports of Call" (mentioned by one of your listeners a year or so ago). It contained selections by Ravel, Debussy, Chabrier, and Ibert. I was drawn especially to Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte, partly, I suppose, because the evocative title resonated with my own dark teenage thoughts. But mostly I listened to the piece because Ravel's exquisite melody, written (so I thought then) for a sorrowful occasion, comforted me with its calm beauty. I still love the piece 60 years after I first heard it.

Air date: September 30, 2025

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Main Theme), Manaka Kataoka

Suggested by Emmanuelle in Aloha, Oregon

This music makes me so happy. In the story, the protagonist Link searches for Princess Zelda and fights to prevent the malevolent Ganondorf from destroying the kingdom of Hyrule.

Air date: September 29, 2025

Piano Sonata No. 8, “Pathetique”, Ludwig van Beethoven

Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon

Even though my piano teacher warned me not to play this, I played it at a piano recital anyway... and made some major mistakes. But no one really seemed to care except for me. I thoroughly embarrassed myself, though, and felt like crawling under a rock. The thing is: I played it perfectly 2 weeks before. You live and you learn.

Air date: September 26, 2025

Norma: Casta Diva, Vincenzo Bellini

Suggested by Donna in Vancouver, Washington

I used to listen to opera on the radio all the time, never knowing what they were saying, never knowing the story, so I'd make it all up in my head. Finally in October of 2005 I went to see my first opera, Norma. I had read the story but didn't know much about history so it didn't make a lot of sense, but still, I remember the excitement and goosebumps I had throughout the entire opera, as the music was so beautiful and I had never heard it before. The lyrics were on a sort of subtitle screen above the stage, but I didn't pay too much attention. It has been twenty years and I have learned all about the history the opera is based on, but not because of the opera. Just because of things I've run across, some history lessons, etc. This piece has always stuck with me and I think others will enjoy it.

Air date: September 25, 2025

Pièces de fantaisie Suite No. 2: Toccata, Louis Vierne

Suggested by Kyle in Portland, Oregon

Every time I would listen to the piece, I can feel the chaotic energy of the song resonate in my chest. It inspires me to paint without a thought of anyone else and has powered my artistic liberties to high extents. Along with it’s chaos, it reminds me of a person who I have inspired to be for many years. Being a rather closed off sixteen year old, this song helps me express myself in so many different lights that I can truly appreciate myself.

Air date: September 24, 2025

Nocturne in E minor, Op. 72, No. 1, Frederic Chopin

Suggested by Aletha in Portland, Oregon

I first heard this piece in one of my favorite childhood movies The Secret Garden. Years later in high school a piano teacher assigned me this piece to learn. I fell in love with it and performed it several times as well as for competition. It's technically not that difficult but it expresses so much emotion. I didn't realize it at the time but I think the reason I related to this piece so deeply was due to the loss of my sister that I experienced at the age of 12. I repressed my grief fairly successfully through the art of spiritual bypassing until college but it was still there simmering under the surface, waiting for me until I was ready. I think this piece of music was one of the only outlets I had to touch in on that grief. There is a part of the piece that diverges a bit and sounds almost like a happy memory or reverie with a hint of longing before it brings you back into the more somber minor key. I think this piece will always be one of my favorite piano compositions. Chopin surely was acquainted with heartbreak.

Air date: September 23, 2025

Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 3, Sergei Rachmaninov

Suggested by Michael in Portland, Oregon

I have always listened to classical music. When I was 11, my father brought home his boss who was visiting from out of town to share dinner with us. This gentleman noticed the small spinet piano in the living room and asked if anyone played. My father said, "Why yes, our son." Nervously I sat at the piano and played Fur Elise by Beethoven. Afterward, my father asked him if he played. He said he dabbled a bit. We asked if he would be willing to play something and he agreed. He sat at the piano and was silent, lifted his hands and began Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor. It was mesmerizing, ethereal, and transformative. That one act cemented my love for classical music. Never had I felt so connected to any other composer or one piece of music. Magical.

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