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: September 7, 2022

String Quartet No. 1, “From My Life”: Largo Sostenuto, Bedrich Smetana

Suggested by Abbie in Banff, Alberta, Canada

I just returned from the first concert of this year's Banff International String Quartet Competition and am filled with joy from today's concerts as well as memories from past years' concerts. I'm remembering fondly The Miró Quartet's performance of Smetana's String Quartet #1 that they played several years ago at the finals; it still makes me smile every time I think of it. I know Miró hasn't recorded Smetana's quartet, but I'd love to hear some of it nonetheless.

Air date: September 6, 2022

Heaven’s Gate: Sweet Breeze, David Mansfield

Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon

I remember just moving out here from Cincinnati and my boss turned me on to this soundtrack. The movie flopped at the box office. It should have won an Oscar just for the scenery and music.

Air date: September 5, 2022

Kirby (video game): King Dedede & Meta Knight Medley, Jun Ishikawa (arr. by Megumi Ohara)

Suggested by Minori in Portland, Oregon

I'm a 10 year-old girl and I LOVE the video game Kirby. I also like Kirby music. When I do my Japanese homework I often listen to the Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert, especially this song. This song is special to me because Kirby was the very first video game I beat by myself. I played Kirby when I had to stay home alone when my dad was at work and my ma was still in Japan. This song makes me feel epic.

Air date: September 1, 2022

The Armed Man (A Mass for Peace): Benedictus, Karl Jenkins

Suggested by Michael in Portland, Oregon

I discovered the 2Cellos version of this piece on YouTube. I heard this and I immediately became an ardent fan and supporter. It is like the comment I read from one YouTube reviewer: "If only music can replace wars and melt the hearts of those who instigate them... if only." I have been moved beyond space and time and will be forever grateful to the world of music for inspirations such as this music.

Air date: August 31, 2022

Missa Solemnis, Op. 123: Kyrie, Ludwig van Beethoven

Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon

I'd like to hear this music, which was featured in the funeral scene from the film Immortal Beloved. It is so beautiful in that church. The choreography is amazing.

Air date: August 30, 2022

Piano Concerto No. 9, “Jeunehomme”: II. Andantino, W. A. Mozart

Suggested by Donovan in Milwaukie, Oregon

The first time I heard this I was almost reduced to tears. It was at the same time beautiful and deeply sad. It has been such a favorite of mine that I have even nominated it for All Classical’s annual Classical Countdown.

Air date: August 29, 2022

Three Gymnopedies, Erik Satie

Suggested by Kent in Beavercreek, Oregon

Years ago, I worked at St. Mary's College (now University) as a chaplain for students. The work was intense and I often felt stress on the job. Brother Patrick, one of the Christian Brothers who taught on campus, introduced me to Satie's Gymnopedies one afternoon. The simple melodies and rhythms appealed to me right away and I subsequently often sought refuge in them at the end of a long day.

Air date: August 25, 2022

Symphony No. 2, “Romantic”: Movement 1, Howard Hanson

Suggested by Barbara in Shannon, Georgia

The first movement of Howard Hanson's "Romantic" Symphony starts out a little boisterously, but then evolves into a beautiful melody . . . and that melody is the theme for Interlochen. Anyone who has attended the summer arts camp (or the now year-round arts school) should instantly recognize it. It is very soothing to me and brings back so many memories: singing two oratorios every summer, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas (I was in HMS Pinafore, the Mikado, and Pirates of Penzance the three years I was in high school girls camp) and much much more.

Air date: August 24, 2022

Goldberg Variations: Aria & Variations 1-7, J.S. Bach

Suggested by Mike in Beaverton, Oregon

I know this may be an obvious choice, but this 1955 recording by Glenn Gould always centers and relaxes me, just like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. It reaches right to my core.

Air date: August 23, 2022

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999): Duel of The Fates, John Williams

Suggested by Joe in Sherwood, Oregon

My name is Joe and I'm 13. I have been listening to All Classical Portland for 2 years and I love it so much! This piece means so much to be because it opened me up to the amazing world of classical music.

Air date: August 22, 2022

Mississippi Suite, Ferde Grofe

Suggested by Robert in Merion Station, Pennsylvania

Your programming is fabulous! I find this piece very entertaining and uplifting and would make a great 5:00 Favorite. Keep up the good work!

Air date: August 18, 2022

The Body of the Moon, Desmond Earley

Suggested by Kaylynn in Wilsonville, Oregon

It has been 5 years since the 2017 total solar eclipse. I was pregnant in Washington state, while by brother will in hospice in France. Though separated by a vast difference, I always knew we shared was the same moon. The beauty of the piece helps me focus on the love we always have for the ones we have lost. It reminds me that my love for him never went away and neither did his light. The sun is always shining, even if the moon is covering it.

Air date: August 17, 2022

La Oracion del Torero (The Bullfighter’s Prayer), Op. 34, Joaquin Turina

Suggested by Steve in Portland, Oregon

In my working life I spent a lot of time in Malaga on business. The town has a large bullring in the east part of the city which always had lots of anti-bullfighting graffiti sprayed on the walls... basketball and soccer are the big sports in Spain these days.

Air date: August 16, 2022

Gnossienne No. 1: Lent, Erik Satie

Suggested by George in Beaverton, Oregon

I find this piece incredibly beautiful. This proves to me that beautiful music can find a direct path to the pleasure center of the brain. I hope others can tap into this source of beauty.

Air date: August 15, 2022

Intermezzo in A, Johannes Brahms

Suggested by Gabriella in Newberg and Christine in Portland

Gabriella says:
This was one of the first piece I ever heard my boyfriend play. And it was after our juries were over, he sat me down in our music theory class room and he played it for me. And I cried, it was so beautiful, and it felt like in a moment I watched what we had lived together and then envisioned a future with him and I knew I was safe and loved and in the right relationship.

Christine says:
I am retired, I listen to classical music for most of the day. These few minutes bring a calm and sense of relaxation to my still busy life.

Air date: August 11, 2022

Anna Magdalena Notebook: “Bist du bei mir” & March in D, J.S. Bach

Suggested by Melanie in Portland, Oregon

My husband Tom and I were married 8/13/1977. We did it quite “affordably;” the wedding was in the Lewis and Clark Agnes Flanagan Chapel (Tom was in law school there, so the chapel was free to us!). A music student played the organ for the ceremony. Bist du Bei Mir was the processional, and we happily recessed to the Marche!! I sewed the dresses, we returned gifts to Meier and Frank so Tom could afford to buy a suit there, our friends and family cooked the food, and we partied in my aunt and uncle’s back yard. We celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary 8/13/2022. I married the right guy!

Air date: August 10, 2022

Grand Canyon Suite: On the Trail, Ferde Grofe

Suggested by Jeff in Portland, Oregon and Nancy in Newport, Oregon

Jeff says:
Many years ago (more, in fact, than I am willing to admit) as a high schooler, I was introduced to classical music by my stepbrother and his spouse when they gifted me with a cassette. You know, those little plastic boxes containing a reel of magnetic tape. Their gift was Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite. It changed my world. If, perchance, you can present to us "On The Trail" from that composition as a "5 o'clock Favourite," I would be indebted.

Nancy says:
The first time I heard the Grand Canyon Suite I felt transported to a magnificent open mountainous space surrounded by the beauty of nature. It relaxes me and nurtures my imagination.

Air date: August 9. 2022

Wedding March from Valsoy Fjord, Traditional Norwegian

Suggested by Lisa in Hillsboro, Oregon

My last name comes from my Norwegian grandfather. When I heard this breathtakingly beautiful song on All Classical, I realized that I should learn something about my heritage.

Air date: August 8, 2022

Trumpet Concerto in E: II. Affettuoso, Johann Friedrich Fasch

Suggested by Addison in Goldendale, Washington

First, this piece exemplifies the quote "When words fail, music speaks." I want to hear this glorious piece of music because of the fact that I used to have a form of hydrocephalus, and listening to All Classical Portland at night is a way to avoid having a seizure. Classical music has been a glorious past time for me and helps me cope with anxiety.

I will say is that the trumpet in this piece makes my spirit soar beyond this world. I hope it will do the same for the listeners. Thank you so much to the compassionate music-loving staff of All Classical Portland for their continued efforts to keep classical music at front and center of our lives.

Air date: August 4, 2022

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: The Ecstacy of Gold, Ennio Morricone

Suggested by Jeffrey in Portland, Oregon

Both my wife and I had the coincidence, on two separate occasions, of having this song come up on our playlist while we bicycled up a challenging hill.

On her way to work one morning she biked along NE Brookwood Parkway when she reached an overpass leading over Highway 26. At that segment of Brookwood Parkway it is heavily trafficked, and when she reached the apex of the overpass the music reached a crescendo which in turn created an epic sense to her ride over the pass.

On a different day I was returning home from my studio on my bicycle while listening to the same piece. Near the beginning of the piece I had turned onto N Wheeler Ave which is a short but relatively steep hill that leads to Broadway just before the bridge. My bicycle at the time was a single gear bicycle and the climb had always been a slow battle of whispered curses, but that day with the music flooding my ears I felt empowered to make it to the top at the right moment. It truly became an soundtrack to my climb, and just as I was cresting the top the same crescendo that met my wife's climb began to play. It fit too perfectly.

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