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 18, 2022

Adagio for Strings, Samuel Barber

Suggested by Walter in Tillamook, Oregon

When I was a student at UCLA I worked the graveyard shift babysitting a room full of glowing equipment. This was on the top floor of the physics building. As the sun would rise the local classical station always played Adagio for Strings. I would open the windows and watch as this music made the sun rise and transformed nighttime LA from its true desert robes to the daytime urban jungle. On a good night you could hear and see the coyotes retreating back into the mountains.

A little poem about this experience:

It was the 1960’s
A vacuum tube computer with 40000 tubes
I was hired to sit with it all night to make sure it didn’t catch on fire
Thus the room had a very unique glow and a hum
Each tube had 2 glowing points of light
Large curtains covered the windows.
At sunrise
I would open the curtains and have a stunning view of Westwood
At first
In the early dawn
The smell of chaparral
The desert nocturnal animals were retreating from there raids on urban treasures
The classical station at the time [KFAC, since gone ] would play Adagio for Strings
Just as the high intense note would sound, the sun would break the rim
Some station technician waved his magic wand and made this shift with the change in seasons.
The remainder of the piece would usher in the sounds and smells of the awakening city.

Air date: October 17, 2022

Ma Vlast: The Moldau, Bedrich Smetana

Suggested by Steve in Portland, Oregon

This beautiful piece of music describes the course of the river through the countryside: from a small trickling stream to a major river, it rolls past a wedding celebration where there is lively dancing. At night, nymphs dance on the water in the moonlight, then on through the St. John's Rapids. It emerges to become an even mightier river (the key changes from E minor to E Major), flowing past the Vysehrad Castle and on to the city of Prague and beyond.

This is my favorite music involving a river. Your studios overlook the Willamette River. When I look out at the Willamette, I think of Smetana's music. For Czechs this music is a near national anthem. I'm not Czech, but with this music I feel I can understand them and their country a bit more.

Air date: October 14, 2022

Aida: Grand March, Chorus “Gloria all’Egitto!”, and Ballet, Giuseppe Verdi

Suggested by Mike in Lincoln County, Oregon

13 years ago, I was still recovering from a painful divorce that occurred over 2 years earlier. Thanks to several wonderfully supportive people, and some new interests, including a passion for classical music and opera, I was slowly moving on. However, there remained an anger and sadness that I couldn’t fully overcome, and these feelings would frequently arise to hold me back from true happiness.

One serene Sunday morning, it happened to be Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday - Oct 10 - so I put on one of my new favorite CDs, a greatest hits of Il Maestro. I was feeling unusually relaxed and content, but as would so often happen, my peaceful morning was suddenly shattered by an intrusive negative memory. I recall disappointedly putting down my crossword puzzle and looking out the window at the grand oak tree. Then, an unfamiliar thought came to me: I don’t want to be angry or sad anymore. It was at that moment that I became aware that “Gloria all’ Egitto” had started playing in the background.

That fateful morning, the magnificent choir and dramatic music served to lift me out of the depths. I spent the entire 12 minutes of the song excitedly imagining scenarios that had upset me the previous 2 years, and asking myself if I could not get upset when faced with them again. The answer each time was a resounding “YES!” That moment changed the trajectory of my life, so every Oct 10, I celebrate Il Maestro’s birthday and my Epiphany Day by listening to “Gloria all’ Egitto”. Thank you, and viva Verdi!

Air date: October 13, 2022

Tannhauser: Overture, Richard Wagner

Suggested by Susan in Wilsonville, Oregon

35 years ago, I had planned to marry my now-husband, Steven, in a quiet, intimate ceremony. But one night he and our dear friends sat me down to play this piece of music. As it played, they acted out the perfect wedding (choreographed to this music) with a minister and family, best man and bridesmaid descending a 100-step outdoor staircase lined with cypress trees and leading from a Greek temple to the manicured grounds of an Italian villa overlooking the ocean in California. As the music soared Steven emerged, followed by ring-bearers, flower girls, and finally me at the grand crescendo! Very reluctantly, I agreed... and the elegant, magnificent music proved to be the unforgettable artistic expression of a wondrous life together.

Air date: October 12, 2022

Sure On This Shining Night, Morten Lauridsen

Suggested by Joy in Hillsboro, Oregon

For thirty years I sang with the Portland Symphonic Choir and we performed this piece a couple of times. Standing in the middle of a hundred or so beautiful voices, and joining mine to the mix, was a great pleasure. Lauridsen has a wonderful way of weaving the lines in and over each other. I loved singing it! And I think it's gentle style will have a calming influence on the five o'clock traffic!

Air date: October 11, 2022

Fisher’s Hornpipe, Traditional (arr. Mark O'Connor)

Suggested by Chris in Portland, Oregon

Just a playful, fun piece that always makes me smile. Thank you!

Air date: October 10, 2022

Polka Italienne, Sergei Rachmaninov

Suggested by Julie in Albany, Oregon

I teach middle school drama in Albany, Oregon. For our 2020 production of Sleeping Beauty, I chose this song as the "fairy theme" to play whenever the fairies were onstage. Four of my actors learned this song as a piano quartet to perform during intermission. Sadly our show was cancelled the day before Opening Night because of Covid. I still love this piece and think of my students whenever I hear it.

Air date: October 7, 2022

Baba Yetu, Christopher Tin

Suggested by Marco in Portland, Oregon

The song is used in the intro for the video game Sid Meyer's Civilization IV. This is one of my favorite game series and one of the best strategy games. My partner turned me onto the series when we first started going out; we would play this all the time when we were dating.

Air date: October 6, 2022

Symphony No. 40 in G minor: Finale, W. A. Mozart

Suggested by Victoria in Portland, Oregon

Air date: October 5, 2022

Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing, Herbert Howells

Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon

Heard this on Andrea Murray's show one night, and fell in love with it.

Air date: October 4, 2022

Athalia: War March of The Priests, Felix Mendelssohn

Suggested by Robert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

When I was a student at the old School for the Blind in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Atlantic coast, on graduation night -as staff and students filed into the assembly hall- this stirring melody was played.

Air date: October 3, 2022

Nocturne in E-Flat, Op. 9, No. 2, Frederic Chopin

Suggested by Thom in Portland, Oregon

I took classical piano lessons for about 13 years prior to going to university but unfortunately did not keep up with my practicing and am quite rusty. Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 was always a goal of mine. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for considering my request. I appreciate it!

Air date: September 27, 2022

None But the Lonely Heart, Peter Tchaikovsky

Suggested by David in Portland, Oregon

A friend recently gave me a book of piano solos he could no longer use. It happened to be the same book my mother had many years ago, and it brought back a very vivid memory. In the book was Tchaikovsky's "None But the Lonely Heart," which I had learned to play when I was younger. At the time, my mother was taking a music class at the local junior college, and sometimes I would go with her. The instructor heard I had learned this piece and asked me to play it for the class. OMG! Perform in front of 30 people! I had never done that before, I had been playing the piano only about three or four years then, but I agreed. When the time came for me to play, I was sitting with the class with the music. But when I got up, I didn't take the music with me. I played from memory, and for awhile, everything went fine. But when I got to page three, I forgot the notes. I remembered the rhythm, though, and kind of faked it. Two measures later I remembered the music again, and it was smooth sailing from there. Afterwards, I mentioned this to the instructor. He told me, "You did fine. If you didn't know the piece, you never would have noticed the error. To be able to do that," he added, "is the mark of a good pianist."

Air date: September 22, 2022

Winterreise: The Linden Tree, Franz Schubert

Suggested by David in Portland, Oregon

Schubert composed about 600 songs, many of which are exquisitely beautiful. I have become obsessed with them! (And the piano accompaniments, by the way, do more than just support the singer; they are beautiful, fascinating.) Please play a version by Thomas Quasthoff; I really admire him.

Air date: September 21, 2022

Perpetuum Mobile, Arthur Jeffes

Suggested by Tressa in Portland, Oregon

This song, and group (Penguin Cafe Orchestra), inspire me to keep moving and trying, despite the obstacles. I feel the flow coming from the instruments and it uplifts me. This is especially what I listen to during the Spring months, as new growth and life are bursting forth. Thank you!

Air date: September 20, 2022

Portal 2 (video game): Turret Opera, Mike Morasky

Suggested by Dewey in Camas, Washington

This song comes from a game that really helped distract me from the arguments my parents were having before they split up. It's a song that's played at the end of the game, when Chell (the main character) is finally able to leave. It tells about how she's free, despite all the pain and struggle she went through, and she can finally run away from the cause of all her problems to live a normal life.

Air date: September 19, 2022

Tales of Hoffman: Barcarolle, Jacques Offenbach

Suggested by Sigrid in Portland, Oregon

But I have always loved Tales of Hoffman, particularly the hauntingly beautiful duet, the Barcarolle. Every time I hear it the poignancy overwhelms me, from the tender, tremulous beginning into the swelling that leads, ultimately, to the ending nostalgia.

Air date: September 16, 2022

Fiddler on the Roof: Sunrise, Sunset, Jerry Bock

Suggested by Randy in Portland, Oregon

I heard the Fidler on the Roof song "If I Were a Rich Man" on a recent 5:00 Favorite - it brought back memories of a family celebration in Medford at Rogue Valley Manor to celebrate my mother's 95th birthday. I commented to my cousins that "We were once the grandchildren, now we are the grandparents!" Thinking about that caused me to recall this song -also from Fidler on the Roof- and the line referencing the children: "I don't remember growing older - when did they?"

Air date: September 15, 2022

Serenade (from String Quartet No. 3, No. 5), Joseph Haydn

Suggested by Sara in Washington DC

When I was a little girl I had a jewelry box. When I opened the lid of that jewelry box, a little ballerina popped up and spun around to this tune played by a music box. This melody always takes me back to my childhood.

Air date: September 14, 2022

Ashokan Farewell, Jay Unger

Suggested by Gregory in Portland, Oregon

I lost my beloved cat Brody the beginning of the summer; he passed away June 8th. I miss him so.

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