Written by DCist Contributor Oscar Bunoan Despite what you’ve read, Vincent Van Gogh was not insane. I mean, what’s the use of an earlobe to a painter anyway? An artist under mental distress, after all, would have immediately deemed his moneymakers a more suitable gift for an unsuspecting prostitute. Why make reference to the 19th century post impressionist? Because, whether James and Miranda Chen—owners of the Asian influenced Sunflower Vegetarian—realize it or not, he serves... more ›

Washington woke up this morning to the sad news that Mstislav Rostropovich died in Moscow today, after undergoing treatment for cancer since February. The world has lost a giant of music, an enthusiastic, larger than life figure for many of his 80 years among us. Many Washingtonians felt the loss more keenly because of the Russian cellist and conductor's long relationship with the city, as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to... more ›

Most people now associate the words "classical music" so strongly with the past that it is easy to forget that composers are still writing music for those traditional vehicles of art music -- opera, symphony, chamber ensembles. Soprano Dawn Upshaw urges us regularly not to forget this very fact, by lending her radiant voice to so many new compositions. Indeed, she has become the muse of many contemporary composers, the favored midwife at numerous musical... more ›

Have you stopped by the Phillips Collection yet? If you walked away wondering where Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec found some of their inspiration, meet Katsushika Hokusai, the Japanese artist whose novel integration of Eastern technical skill with Western style went on to influence these European giants, along with Van Gogh, Monet, and countless others. Hokusai’s innovative paintings and drawings dared to move beyond the popular Japanese styles of his time that focused on wealthy, urban lifestyles in bold lines and color, instead opting to capture nature, spirituality and the working class. An unprecedented collection of his works are on display now at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution. more ›