The Five O’Clock Favorite is driven by listener suggestions! We’d love your participation.
Suggestions are easiest to honor if they’re 20 minutes or less.
Suggested by Helena in Portland, Oregon
Suggested by Ann in Salem, Oregon
I would love to hear the choral version of Bernstein's "Make Our Garden Grow". Bernstein embraces the pain and suffering in the world and offers the simplest of refuges: to build a house and grow a garden. It brought me to tears when I saw "Maestro" on Netflix. I know of nothing more comforting to offer our troubled world.
Suggested by Jacqueline in McMinnville, Oregon
I had a friend who was known as the "singing mailman of McMinnville." He did a lot of theater work, and had a fabulous voice. He died at age 56 of cancer, and I was devasated by the loss. He loved the Pirates of Penzance, and I'd love to hear this in his honor.
Suggested by Laurie in Silverton, Oregon
Beaverton, Christmas break 1960: my sister, who was majoring in Music at Whitman College, came home with the assignment to learn by heart Debussy's piano solo The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (La fille aux Chevaux de Lin). She spent many hours mastering the piece, while I curled up at the base of the piano making her play over and over this beautiful music. It is still my favorite piece, and my daughters (both flaxen-haired) had it played as their husbands escorted me down the aisle at their weddings.
Suggested by Michael in Tucson, Arizona
It resounds in my mind over and over again.
Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon
It's a beautiful song, and perfect for this time of year.
Suggested by Jayne in Gleneden Beach, Oregon
Back in the 1990s I returned to New Jersey to spend the holidays with my mother in the farmhouse of my childhood. This was the first Christmas after my father died during the previous holiday season. My mother and I sat in the living room with the warmth of her beautiful Christmas tree listened to a TV special with Andrea Bocelli. It was the first time we heard him and marveled at both how wonderful he was to listen to and how brave he was to perform. I think we each fell a bit in love with him that night.
All Classical likely receives many requests for various Ave Marias this time of year, but I would love to hear Andrea Bocelli sing the Ave Maria again and journey back to that magical night.
Suggested by Finley in Portland, Oregon
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is a piece of music that sits quite close to my heart, not only because the first time I got to perform this piece with my high school choir, it was on my birthday in our state capitol building, but this is the piece that jump-started my fascination for Choral and Classical Music and it's all thanks to my high school choir teacher, Mr. Silva. Every winter, without fail, Mr. Silva pulls out an arrangement of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel that he himself arranged, and I can say that without a doubt I have yet to find another arrangement that holds a candle to his. Choir of King's College is about as close as I have gotten. I am ecstatic to see them perform it again at The Grotto this year, which just so happens to fall on my birthday again! Thanks Mr. Silva, this is for you.
Suggested by Iria in Salem, Oregon
I grew up in a family of 11 children in a Nordic European country. Every one of us played an instrument and on Christmas Eve we all had a “showcase.“ My favorite moment from those showcases is one of my sisters playing a less-heard piece by Sibelius, The Spruce. It is perfect during this holiday time. As I hear the composition, I can smell the fragrance of spruce tree, decorated in Christmas glory. I can almost hear the children singing the carols and see the candles lighting the night…
Suggested by Pie in Portland, Oregon
I saw this film, and though it's definitely not a family movie, the music was great. A cool blending of original music and Tchaikovsky's classic ballet, Swan Lake.
Suggested by Tina in Portland, Oregon
Gilbert and Sullivan shows were such a big part of my childhood and early adulthood. I love HMS Pinafore, The Gondoliers, and the Mikado, but Pirates will always be my favorite G & S show. My family belonged to an amateur Light Opera Company in the San Francisco Bay area, and the group would put on two large productions every year. When we did Pirates of Penzance in 1986, I was captivated by the music (and the lyrics, of course, but the music particularly). The music is so clear in its intent and feeling that you don't have to have seen the show to get a sense of what was happening onstage. My whole family took part in that 1986 amateur theater production - my dad onstage, my mom playing piano in the orchestra pit, and my sister and I working backstage on sets and props. It was a magical world to grow up in, and I really treasure those memories and the lifelong friendships made through a shared love of music and musical theater.
Suggested by Maurice in Roseburg, Oregon
I came to know this piece by way of my dear friend Chuck who introduced it to me my freshman year of high school. It has stayed with me ever since, gracing me with its glorious presence.
Suggested by John in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
In 1957 I was a sophomore in college. My roommate had a recording of Howard Hanson’s Second Symphony - the “Romantic”. While listening to it, I was deeply moved. This was an American symphony with interesting orchestration and great sound! Every time I hear it, I remember how deeply I was touched when I heard the recording for the first time. Recently the Madison Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra programed a concert of all American music, and the 2nd Symphony was part of the program. After 66 years, I was able to hear a live performance of the symphony! I particularly love the 3rd and final movement of the symphony.
Suggested by Elizabeth in Lake Oswego, Oregon
My father is the reason I love classical music. He was often away and listening to classical music was how we shared good times together. In the beginning, it was listening to his record "Victory at Sea" which the above selection is from. From there he introduced me to others including choral music which I adore. Later we added season tickets to the ballet broadening the ways we listened to music together. (The piece above went on to be a commercial success when Oscar Hammerstein gave it words but I like the original orchestral the best.) LOVE THIS PART OF MY DAY!!
Suggested by Galen in McMinnville, Oregon
Years ago, I took an outdoor photography class, long before digital cameras, back when 35 mm Kodachrome slides were king. The instructor introduced us to the class format by playing the Moldau. We had several field trips: to the Cascades. the upper McKenzie River, the Willamette River and the Oregon coast. The results of our class effort was a slide presentation to the music of The Moldau; drops falling in a mountain stream, a river growing in size, and finally the river reaching the sea. It was a fun project, and although the slide presentation did not survive, I still love to hear the music and I picture the slides in my mind.
Suggested by Kirke in Albany, Oregon
I was looking through some long-play records that I inherited from my parents and discovered a record of the Caucasus Sketches released in 1952. I'm hoping All Classical Radio has a more recent recording that you can share as one of your 5 O'Clock Favorites. :)
Suggested by Claudia in Portland, Oregon
As in many Catholic households, Schubert’s Ave Maria was import to my family. When planning my wedding, at age 21, I asked our neighbor Neal (a violin prodigy) to provide the ceremonial music. It was his mother who suggested the inclusion of Ave Maria. She explained, “Your father was moved to tears when he heard Neal practice that piece. In this way he will be with you at your wedding.” I don’t recall feeling my father’s presence during the Ave Maria processional, only a sting of sadness as my older brother escorted me down the aisle.
Fifty years later, my daughter and her Catholic fiancé selected this same piece for their wedding. As I heard the familiar opening notes, I felt the joy of being momentarily held in my father’s loving presence.
Suggested by Jynx in Portland, Oregon (she/her)
I first heard of Ziehrer listening to All Classical & immediately could hear a resemblance to the Strauss family... but Ziehrer is way more fun. This piece is a great example of how zippy & upbeat his music sounds — qualities to really appreciate in this woebegone world!
Suggested by Eva in Vancouver, Washington
I first heard this in high school band and fell in love with the way the composer told the story through the music. I played the bells and marimba during the song, and to this day I'll still play fragments of it on the piano and it is absolutely beautiful!
(From the publisher: A magnificent programmatic work that is an offering to Pele, the Goddess of Hawaii's volcanoes. The work opens with primordial, mysterious sounds representing the foreboding volcanoes of Hawaii. We are then introduced to Pele as a tall, beautiful young woman. Suddenly and violently, one of her volcanoes erupts, creating massive chaos and destruction. After the eruption subsides, Pele's theme of creation and beauty returns again.)
Suggested by Lance in Gresham, Oregon
The Warsaw Concerto was one of my Dad's favorite pieces of music. It makes me think of him as he introduced me to the world of Classical Music.
This song helped me through a pretty difficult time. It calms me down like nothing else, and I don’t know where I’d be without it.