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: August 28, 2023

Beau Soir (Beautiful Evening), Claude Debussy

Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon

When I lived in Chelan, I went on a mini vacation to a place 52 miles up the lake with no electricity or modern day amenities. At dusk, I remember watching the bats emerge into the sky. It was a beautiful evening. This piece makes me think of that night.

Air date: August 24, 2023

Rapsodia Cubana I, Manuel Ponce

Suggested by Neil in Portland, Oregon

Just wanted to share one of my favorite pieces! Enjoy!

Air date: August 23, 2023

Symphony No. 5: 1. Allegro con brio, Ludwig van Beethoven

Suggested by Kathryn in Corvallis, Oregon

I played violin in my college orchestra many years ago, and we played this entire symphony, which was a lot of fun. In fact, I must have been having way too much fun, because while playing the last notes of the first movement in concert, my bow completely snapped at the top and fell apart on stage in front of the entire orchestra and auditorium. To say I was mortified would be an understatement! Fortunately, I was able to access a new bow and finish playing the rest of the symphony. Looking back, I can only laugh at the experience, and imagine that Beethoven would have applauded my intensity toward his music!

Air date: August 22, 2023

America the Beautiful, Samuel Augustus Ward

Suggested by Steve in Portland, Oregon

This song was inspired by a trip to the top of Pike's Peak, Colorado -- a 14,000-foot mountain at the edge of the Rockies, where the mountains meet the plains. Katherine Lee Bates wrote the words to describe what she saw from up there. As we listen, I invite everyone to think about their favorite American landscapes.

Air date: August 21, 2023

Scheherazade: The Young Prince and the Young Princess, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Suggested by Zoe in Portland, Oregon

Scheherazade is one of my favorite pieces of music. My mom played it on an album 60 years ago and I fell in love with the story of 1001 Nights. The music immediately grabbed me and I love it.

Air date: August 14, 2023

Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus, G. F. Handel

Suggested by Christine in Lexington, Kentucky

I joined the church choir to sing the Messiah at Easter and met a nice young man. We started talking and became good friends, I asked him out and and after two dates we got engaged and six weeks later married. After 43 years we still consider this our theme song.

Air date: August 10, 2023

Intermezzo in A, Op. 118, No. 2, Johannes Brahms

Suggested by Virginia in Portland, Oregon

Seymour Bernstein, subject of a fine documentary, "Seymour: An Introduction," plays this superbly. The only place I can find his version is on YouTube, though. I tried several other pianists. None came close. It is a gorgeous piece, performed to perfection.

Air date: August 9, 2023

Serenade for Strings: II. Tempo di Valse, Antonin Dvorak

Suggested by Jeff in Portland, Oregon

For many of us, David Ogden Stiers maintains a special place in our heart. He was conductor of the Newport (OR) Symphony until his death. Stiers played the role of Charles Emerson Winchester (the third) on the TV show MASH, and in one memorable episode encountered a young Korean lady-of-the-night. He was certain he could make her into a genteel woman, and placed a disk on his record player and was asked "what's that, Charles?" "Holiday for strings" the girl chimed in. "SERENADE For Strings!" Winchester corrected. Thus, the US TV audience was serenaded, if briefly, by Dvorak

Air date: August 8, 2023

Greensleeves, Traditional English

Suggested by Meredith in Portland, Oregon

Greensleeves was one of my mom's favorites. This rendition by the King's Singers is what I played shortly after she took her last breath. I found it beautiful and comforting. She was lying right there with what looked like a Mona Lisa smile on her face. I even think she may have even winked at me.

Air date: August 7, 2023

Holiday in Cambodia, Dead Kennedys

Suggested by Darrin in Portland, Oregon

In 1978 I found punk rock! Changed my life. I have always loved classical music too. Now, with the London Punkharmonic, we have classical punk rock!!

Air date: August 3, 2023

Somewhere in Time: Andante cantabile from Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Sergei Rachmaninov

Suggested by LeAnn in Portland, Oregon

Tomorrow is the birthday of my beloved, Stephen. He and I have been together nearly 13 years now. We have been through very exciting personal and professional wins, and the most extreme challenges, and through it all he continues to be my greatest love. Stephen and I both love the music of composer John Barry, and Barry's exquisite film score of SOMEWHERE IN TIME. What moves me most about the film: it celebrates the belief in, and the timeless power of, love. I believe that every one of us are destined for our own love story, just as Stephen and I have been blessed with finding our own love story in each other. I am beyond grateful that my beloved Stephen was born, and I dedicate this 5 O'Clock Favorite to him: my bright star, and a living example of the power and magic of finding your greatest love, somewhere in time. Happy Birthday, Stephen.

Air date: August 2, 2023

Hungarian Dance No. 5, Johannes Brahms

Suggested by Kerry in Vancouver, Washington

Today is my 40th birthday and this would be a joy to hear! Whenever I hear this song I fiddle my fingers along. This is one of my favorite Hungarian Dances and I love to draw to this music.

Air date: July 24, 2023

Clair de Lune, Claude Debussy

Suggested by Valerie in Vancouver, Washington

This piece always reminds me of my mother. She was a brilliant pianist who had received a scholarship to Julliard when she was 17. She gave it up to marry my father, but never quit playing the piano. Growing up we were always blessed when she sat down to play, and this song was always one of my favorites. She passed away when I was 14, and the piano playing stopped. When I listen to All Classical, it is like having a piece of my mother back. You play so much of the music that she used to play. She has been gone for 45 years now, and how I wished we had the technology then like we do now. I would have recorded her whenever she played. So, friends and fellow listeners... if you have a musical genius in the family, or even a non-genius, make sure you get those recordings. Time is precious, and you never know what is around the corner.

Air date: July 20, 2023

Arcanum: Main Theme, Ben Houge

Suggested by Kevin in Beaverton, Oregon

One night, after the video game Arcanum came out in 2001, I sat down for a pre-dinner hour of game time. Right when this theme music started coming through my headphones, my then toddler son, Simon, came around the corner in his onesie, wondering what Dad was up to. It soon became apparent he was asking to listen to the music. I fitted the headphones over his little head, and the most amazing thing happened: eyes closed, he began a slow, twirling impromptu dance to the music, complete with arm sweeps, waist bends and slow stepping motions. An extemporaneous toddler ballet to music he had never heard before. Whenever I hear this impressive short work, it remind me of my little Simon, who is, believe me, quite a bit larger today, but just as special to me now as then. Game companies rarely take chances with their music, but Arcanum is a blessed exception to the rule. I hope you and your listeners enjoy this piece as much as I do.

Air date: July 19, 2023

Horn Concerto No. 1, W. A. Mozart

Suggested by Karen in Portland, Oregon

My husband Glenn passed away on May 16, 2023 and today is his first birthday since his passing. We met at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA in 1963, both playing French Horn. Dennis Brain was a renowned French Horn player at the time, so I'd love to honor Glenn by hearing one of Dennis Brains' recordings. We got married in June of 1966 and have been together until his passing ever since.

Air date: August 18, 2023

Der Rosenkavalier Suite, Richard Strauss

Suggested by Matt in Lake Oswego, Oregon

Today would've been my dad's 101st birthday (died in 2012). An kid of Italian immigrants, he grew up in Sellwood, survived the war, finished college, got married, contributed to the baby boom, and went into business. Despite no musical training (and no apparent musical talent), he had a fondness for opera. When my sisters and I were little dad would go to early Mass on Sundays, then play golf with his friends, then come home for a nap on the living room couch. Quite often, he'd put "Der Rosenkavalier" on the phonograph. Whenever I hear any part of Der Rosenkavalier, I think of those Sundays. Happy birthday dad.

Air date: July 17, 2023

La Bayadere: Andante from Act II, Leon Minkus

Suggested by Buffy in Portland, Oregon

This music is so absolutely beautiful on its own, but recently became a treasured memory for me. The evening was crisp and sweet and lovely. I was stargazing after work while waiting for my ride home, admiring the holy moon and wondering what very bright planet was out next to her, while listening to this music on my phone.

A brilliant co-worker I admire so very deeply started his walk home, but paused when he heard the music and asked what I was looking at. I pointed out the planet I was trying to identify. He nodded in response and then for whatever magnificent reason chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with me, gazing up at the stars until the song faded, then said good night and continued his walk home. For a number of reasons it would be wrong of me to admit my feelings to him, so that 7 minutes of shared celestial space has become a most precious memory, and this music my most favorite to listen to. It encapsulates a perfect moment in time for me. I listen to it very often now, and recall that instant where we were just two hominids looking up at the shining night sky together.

Air date: July 13, 2023

Mass in D Major: Kyrie & Gloria, Antonin Dvorak

Suggested by Tim in Portland, Oregon

Everyone in my immediate family are musicians. I was raised as a Catholic and attended a few years as a seminarian student, so sacred classical music has always been a part of my life's experience. Despite my exposure and familiarity with the canon, somehow Dvorak's Mass in D seems so obscure; one does not hear it performed often. I might have not noticed it either until I had the privilege of performing it in a choral group a few years ago. It is so rich, lovely and powerful as you'll hear in these two pieces of his Mass in D.

Air date: July 12, 2023

The Swan of Tuonela, Jean Sibelius

Suggested by Hale in Salem, Oregon

My wife of almost 57 years, Romona Thornburgh, played oboe and English Horn. I had just begun dating her and attended a concert in which she played "The Swan of Tuonela" (which contains her all-time favorite English Horn solo), and the performance received tumultuous applause. It was the first time I had heard a solo English Horn and I was immediately captivated by its sound, color and, I must admit, the soloist who made such beautiful music. I think my marital future was sealed that night.

Romona passed away from Alzheimers in February. She and I have been long-time listeners to this radio station and I would like to honor her and her musicianship by hearing this piece on “5 o’clock Favorite” and dedicate it to her memory.

Air date: July 11, 2023

Symphony No. 1: Movement 4, Johannes Brahms

Suggested by Harvey in Portland, Oregon

When I was at Grant High School (I graduated in 1952) the then-Portland Symphony performed for a school assembly. They played the 4th movement of Brahms' Symphony No. 1. I think it was a perfect choice for high school kids, most of whom had never been to a symphony concert.

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