Quiz: Test your Oscar knowledge
Welcome to the silver statuette edition of the Os-Caro Quiz as it marks 25 years of taunting — we mean challenging — you with oh-so-beguiling Academy Awards trivia. This thing...
All Stories
The travels of a cello made in 1694
John Sharp joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as its principal cellist in the 1986-87 season, toward the end of which he bought the instrument he currently plays on stage. This...
‘Go Cubs Go’ must go
Attention, Billy Corgan, Eddie Vedder and all of you lesser-known Cubs-fan songwriters: We have an assignment for you. It's time for "Go Cubs Go" to be gone — at least...
Incoming CSO head is quiet, but will be heard
Like just about anyone who ever has held or applied for a leadership post, incoming Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association President Jeff Alexander is used to being asked the "vision" question,...
‘Selma’ resonates now more than ever
The conversation came the morning after protesters rallied in the wake of the grand jury decision not to indict the police officer involved in the chokehold death of Eric Garner,...
The Alewives: Our annual awards for arts futility
The hubbub over hack-attacked Sony's release of "The Interview" was too big, too serious, too far-reaching to qualify for the Alewife Awards. Since 1996 these prizes, named after the stinky...
David Oyelowo’s two kings
I first saw "Selma" star David Oyelowo act was when I traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich., in 2001 for the Royal Shakespeare Company's marathon, two-day performance of Shakespeare's "Henry VI,...
The story behind a platinum flute
Christina Smith has been principal flutist for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 1991 and was guest principal flutist on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's recent European tour. She will reunite with...
‘Interview’ pulled after threat; U.S. says North Korea behind Sony hack
Many movies have faced protests and pickets over the years, yet the new Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy "The Interview" was deemed to be so potentially dangerous that Sony Pictures Entertainment...
Reports say North Korea ordered Sony hack; film’s opening canceled
Federal authorities have determined that hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government were behind the attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to multiple reports. The news comes hours...