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.
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!
Submit your favorite piece:
Suggestions are easiest to honor if they’re 20 minutes or less.
Harold's story:
This is the first piece of classical music I remember hearing. I think I was around six at the time. My family had just bought one of those new fangled "STEREO" record players (yes, I'm that old), and my dad played for me the Grand Canyon Suite. As a kid I especially remember "On the Trail" with the donkeys plodding along, then speeding up as they are descending into the canyon, and then complaining about going too fast. But I love the imagery in all of the pieces. I guess this is where I first fell in love with music.
Richard's story:
When I was a child growing up in Detroit, Michigan, my parents had a small, but diverse collection of LP records. I was especially drawn to Ferde Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite. I would stare at the large photograph of the canyon on the record cover and imagine the scenes portrayed by Grofe, such as the clip-clopping of the mules on the trail and the thunderstorm. This led to two of my great loves in life--classical music (I still play the piano) and the grandeur of the west (which prompted my move to Oregon 47 years ago). I went to the Grand Canyon for the first time after my freshman year of college and returned two years later with my now wife of 51 years, hiking to the bottom and back up. We repeated the journey with our 3 adult children 25 years after that. So, the seeds of my move to Oregon and my love of classical music were planted when I listened to The Grand Canyon Suite--certainly the most consequential piece of music in my life.