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: December 6, 2022

Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”: II. Scene by the brook, Ludwig van Beethoven

Suggested by David in Portland, Oregon

Air date: December 5, 2022

Festive Overture, Dmitri Shostakovich

Suggested by Marie in Portland, Oregon

The snow this weekend was so festive... but I'm not quite ready for festive holiday music yet. How about Shostakovich's Festive Overture instead?

Air date: December 2, 2022

Cosi fan Tutte: Soave Sia Il Vento (“May the Breezes Be Gentle”), W. A. Mozart

Suggested by Dennis in Portland, Oregon

In the late 1990's I directed a theater/stage production of a play by Terrance McNally entitled "Lips Together Teeth Apart". McNally was a huge opera fan, and in the stage directions for the play he suggested pieces to be played while the action of the play continued. This piece was his suggestion at the final scene; I still can picture my actors spread around the stage and holding their poses as this piece played to it's conclusion - and the audiences were spell bound by the beauty of this trio and the emotional impact of that piece of theater.

Air date: November 22, 2022

German Requiem: How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place, Johannes Brahms

Suggested by Linda in Portland, Oregon

I'd like this to be played in honor and memory of longtime All Classical Portland listener and supporter Larry Monk, who passed away in October. He loved this piece.

Air date: November 30, 2022

Firebird Ballet: Finale, Igor Stravinsky

Suggested by Anonymous in Portland, Oregon

[Suggestion left via voicemail with no name or story...]

Air date: November 29, 2022

Donna Diana Overture, Emil von Reznicek

Suggested by Steve in Portland, Oregon

This was the theme music for the old (very) show: Sargent Preston of the Yukon. I would tune in to the show just to hear the theme music!

Air date: November 28, 2022

The Typewriter, Leroy Anderson

Suggested by Nancy in Vancouver, Washington

I heard this during one of your fundraisers and thought it was great fun! I'm a sustaining donor and always enjoy the very different pieces chosen during that time. I think this piece will have people smiling all the way home.

Air date: November 25, 2022

Bird Rapture, Christopher Tin

Suggested by Frances in Aurora, Oregon

I have been listening to this on repeat and I love it so much. For me, it sounds like that feeling of being a kid out walking at dusk in the fall. When the sunset is turning everything a pinkish-red and you're just about to go inside to where it's warm, but you wait outside for a minute longer to admire the light, and a cold wind grabs your hair just like a movie. It's just such a cool piece and so beautifully sung.

Air date: November 23, 2022

Capricho Arabe (Arabic Caprice), Francisco Tárrega

Suggested by Chloe in Deming, New Mexico (they/them)

It's a beautiful piece.

Air date: November 21, 2022

War of the Worlds: Ray and Rachel, Refugee Status, John Williams

Suggested by Mandy in Portland, Oregon

My son loves The Score and would love to hear music from War of the Worlds. His name is Reuel (pronounced Rule) and it was his 12th birthday yesterday.

Air date: November 16, 2022

Sextet in E-flat for Two Horns and Strings, Ludwig van Beethoven

Suggested by Ted in Salem, Oregon

During the school year of 1966/67 I was a student at an academically rigorous boarding school just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Thanks to the generosity of an alumni a few Seniors, which I was, could attend Sunday concerts at Severance Hall in Cleveland. Remarkedly I and a friend of mine seemed to be the only students who wanted go so off we went to listen to one of the great conductors, George Szell, conduct the great Cleveland Orchestra which often featured the world's best soloists of the time. Gone were thoughts of the looming French test, or essays due or pages of a novel that needed to be read. Instead we could let the music bathe our minds and cleanse our souls as we let the music wash over us. As a result I have been a lifelong devotee of the Classical Repertoire including as a 30 year season ticket holder to the Oregon Symphony.

Please choose a Beethoven piece for me as any of his work will fill my heart with the Gratitude and Joy I felt those many years ago. I will hear this as I drive home to Salem from Portland in rush hour having just finished baby sitting my 4 year old Granddaughter, a labor of love unlike any other!

Air date: November 15, 2022

Les Rameaux (The Palms), Jean-Baptiste Faure

Suggested by Elizabeth in Portland, Oregon

This piece of music has been played on the piano by my great-grandmother, my mother, and myself. I remember growing up listening to my mom play it for her mother on Palm Sunday every year. When I was in college, I learned it for my grandma and surprised her by playing it for her. My grandma passed away in November of last year and whenever I think of her, I think of this song. It reminds me of how gentle and sweet she was, and how powerful and influential she was in my life.

Air date: November 14, 2022

Go, Lovely Rose, Eric Whitacre

Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon

I recently discovered this beautiful piece and thought other listeners would enjoy it too. It's lovely!

Air date: November 11, 2022

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3: III. Allegro (Finale), J.S. Bach

Suggested by Ralph in Lake Oswego, Oregon

As a teenager growing up in Los Angeles in the mid-'sixties I knew the music of the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Then I somehow got a hold of Switched On Bach by Wendy Carlos and played the Third Brandenburg Allegro movement until the grooves in the album wore out. It evoked then and still evokes dervishes joyously twirling in unison on a large dance floor. I've moved on from electronic music but still love the frenetic excitement of the piece.

Air date: November 10, 2022

Quadrille on themes from Strauss’ operetta, “The Merry War”, Johann Strauss, Jr.

Suggested by Dave in Portland, Oregon

I'd like to express his thanks for Saturday Matinee, On Deck, and The Score, and wanted to request this quadrille by Johann Strauss II.

Air date: November 9, 2022

Henry V: Touch Her Soft Lips and Part, William Walton

Suggested by Emma in Portland, Oregon

I’m an 8th grader in middle school and I’m in a choir class.

William Walton’s gentle, pompous music fascinated me when I started watching the Olivier Shakespeare films, Hamlet (1948), Richard III (1955) and Henry V (1944) with my dad. One evening after school when I was sitting in my room, I decided to plug my headphones into my phone and listen to Walton’s Touch Her Soft Lips and Part. I listened quietly, tears streaming down my cheeks, I was blown away. When I hear it, I picture the heroic Henry with his lovely Catherine, sharing a passionate kiss after the dramatic battle at Agincourt.

Air date: November 8. 2022

Piano Concerto No. 2: II. Adagio sostenuto, Sergei Rachmaninov

Suggested by Richard in Silverton, Oregon

My Old English Sheepdog, Jack, listened to All Classical every day. In fact, my wife, Nancy, and I became sustaining contributors the day after we rescued Jack and his "sister" Maggie. The music soothed all of us.

I loved to lie on the couch with Jack, just stroking his coat, or scratching behind his ears. When he heard Rachmaninov's second concerto, he seemed to be more attentive, and the second movement calmed him. He was my constant buddy, and though he had multiple physical problems, he was always up for a hike or a romp. Recently, however, Jack's problems worsened, and we had to let him go to sleep. I still believe his spirit is listening, and I would like to share the second movement of this concerto with that sweet spirit again.

Air date: November 7, 2022

Mountbatten, The Last Viceroy: Main Title, Independence Day, End Titles, John Scott

Suggested by Lance in Portland, Oregon

Back in 1986 when I religiously watched Masterpiece Theatre there was a fascinating program called Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy. There were six parts and it depicted the transfer of India from the British Empire to independence. Mountbatten was given the task of the transfer of power in a matter of several months. He was able to do so courageously and with skill. The music composed by John Scott and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra presented an amazing backdrop for the mini series and is especially poignant at this point in history with the loss of the Queen. Mountbatten was the Queen's cousin and he treated the independence of India with grace and skill. Please play the selections: Mountbatten main theme, Independence Day and The Last Viceroy, end titles.

Air date: November 4, 2022

Casey at the Bat, Peter Hamlin

Suggested by Ken in Camus, Washington

When Fall is in the air, some of us turn our thoughts to baseball and the World Series. The male vocal ensemble Cantus has done the world a great favor by celebrating America’s favorite pastime with their delightful recitation of Casey at the Bat. I am certain that it will bring a smile to the face of all fellow baseball fans out there as well as all observers of the human condition who recognize the utter folly of hubris.

Air date: November 3, 2022

Songs of the Auvergne: La Pastoura als camps (The Shepherdess in the Fields), Joseph Canteloube

Suggested by Kent in Beavercreek, Oregon

When I first heard the Songs of the Auvergne I was transported as if to another space, hearing the soaring and almost plaintive voice of the soprano (It was a recording by Victoria de los Angeles). It has since become one of my most favorite pieces of classical music.

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