probably not recent enough for any of these to be recent recordings- has anyone heard the (alone fairly recent) cpo recording of Weismann quartets arr. for string orchestra, the MDG CD (2002) of Weismann songs, or the CD (also on MDG, 1998) of Weismann piano works? Any opinions on this or other music by him? I like the little I've seen in score, I seem to recall. (By way of recordings of his music I see there's also been one on Signum in 2001, and some on LP also, including his opus 118 Horn Concertino included in at least one LP and CD of horn concertante works.)
I am a Weismann fan. I have taped performances of Piano Concertos 1,2,3 and also Symphonys 2,3. I have no idea if these were ever issued as commercial recordings, although I suspect they were not.
According to the 1950 Grove, there are 6 symphonies altoether, 3 violin concertos ( I believe that Tobias has performances of all 3), at least 4 piano trios, 3 cello sonatas, 2 violin sonatas and a cello concerto. Any of which I would dearly love to find a performance of.
Jerry
So am I! Intrigued to hear that you have recordings of the PCs! Wherefrom did you get them and when? I scan the German radio programs for about 20 year and so far I have not found any broadcast. Please, jerfilm, would you be so kind to give more information about the works you have? (Opus numbers, exact titles: there are some sinfoniettas, sinfonias and regular symphonies - quite confusing!)
I have just uploaded the 2. Violin Concerto op.98, Sinfonietta severa op. 111 and Sinfonia brevis op. 116. All are works from his mature years. He started quite romantic, later showed impressionistic influences and came very near to a Hindemith-like expressionism, though always romantically mellowed. I will add some earlier works later if you like.
A few years ago I played through his opera 'Gespenstersonate' after Strindberg, an expressionistic masterwork though nearer to late Schreker or Reznicek than Strauss. Must be performed to my mind!!!
Quote from: britishcomposer on Friday 08 July 2011, 17:03
I have just uploaded the 2. Violin Concerto op.98, Sinfonietta severa op. 111 and Sinfonia brevis op. 116. All are works from his mature years. He started quite romantic, later showed impressionistic influences and came very near to a Hindemith-like expressionism, though always romantically mellowed. I will add some earlier works later if you like.
Being a sucker for a mellow violin concerto, I thought I'd give this a whirl and I'm very glad I did. It's only a pity that the concerto, like op 116, is 'brevis' - it could have been twice as long and not outstayed its welcome. The material in all three pieces seems to me most attractive and worked out with great craftsmanship. Thanks very much for uploading these and yes, please do add some more. Like Jerry I am a Weismann fan now as well.
Thanks for your enthusiasm!
I know it may sound eccentric but to my mind Weismann is the most important late romantic German (unsung) composer. With probably one exception: Richard Wetz.
Lionel, enjoy the 1. VC – it's twice as long as the 2nd. ;)
Quote from: britishcomposer on Friday 08 July 2011, 20:37
Thanks for your enthusiasm!
I know it may sound eccentric but to my mind Weismann is the most important late romantic German (unsung) composer. With probably one exception: Richard Wetz.
Lionel, enjoy the 1. VC – it's twice as long as the 2nd. ;)
Oooh thanks! You are going to think I'm making this up but honestly, the Wetz B Minor VC came into my mind as I was listening to the Weismann VC2.
Many, many thanks BritishComposer for all of these delicious uploads.
To answer your questions, we are summering at our summer cabin in Estes Park, Colorado about a thousand miles from home and while I have my database of music here, I don't include performance data - I have to go back to the original tapes to get that.
Now if you would like uploads of any of this, if one of you fellows will remind me in October I will gladly get them digitized and uploaded. I have the first piano concerto done but don't have it on the computer here either.
Here's what the database sez (and not being a very studious researcher, if there are errors in this information feel free to correct them- I guess I didn't have to say that - this group seldom let's one get by 'em.......) And there is a strange anomaly on PC #3
Piano Concerto #1 in Bb, opus 33
Piano Concerto #2
Piano Concerto #3 in a, opus 138
Piano Concerto #3 opus 141 (1942-8} Never have compared these 2 recordings - sorry
Suite for piano and orchestra opus 87
Symphony #2 in D
Symphony #3 in Bb
Hope this helps some and whets appetites....
Jerry :)
I have here with me some photocopies of a publication by the Julius Weismann Gesellschaft. (Sorry, cannot give more details.)
Works for piano and orchestra:
op.33 - PC, Bb major (Sibelius listened to that and thought Weismann would plagiarize him! ;))
op.97 - Suite for piano and orch.
op.138 - PC, a minor
op.141 - Concerto for piano, strings and timpani, d minor
Symphonies:
op.19 - Symphony, b minor
op.110 - Sinfonietta giocosa (may upload that later)
op.111 - Sinfonietta severa, f minor
op.116 - Sinfonia brevis
op.130 - Symphony, Bb major
op.131 - Symphony, b minor
Quite confusing, isn't it? ;)
Yes, please, I implore you: do upload everything you have!!! We will then try to find out what is what. ;) - But first enjoy your holidays! :D
Quote from: britishcomposer on Friday 08 July 2011, 20:37
I know it may sound eccentric but to my mind Weismann is the most important late romantic German (unsung) composer.
Wetz and Weismann have been recorded somewhat more than Ewald Straesser, my own recent nomination (ever? at all? not commercially, apparently? but I may be mistaken), but then we get into the definition of "important".
Yes, Eric, you are right: Straesser's orchestral works have only been produced for broadcast purposes and now slumber in the archives of the WDR. The same applies to Weismann. Strange policy. Straesser is certainly fine but in my humble opinion Weismann is quite another category. It has taken cpo ages to discover Weismann - have a bit patience, maybe Straesser is the next... ;)
Jerry. Would you be kind enough to expose to us the weismann piano concerto No.3?
I have been lookoing for no.3 also like a crazy guy. I would appreciate it very much.
My versions of pc no.1 and 2 are interrible conditions, with passages unhearable.
But i am still trying to find through some friends for better quality recording of the 1st and second.
All best,
TOny
Tony, where did you get Nos. 1 and 2? I am just curious about the source: have they been recorded?!
Am I alone in finding much of Weismann's music indigestibly over-ripe...?
No you're not. I'm afraid that, having sampled a number of the symphonies over the years, I can't join the paean of praise, either. I find most of his music rather self-indulgent and meandering, although it does have the merit of brevity. But it wouldn't do for us all to be the same...
Quote from: Alan Howe on Sunday 10 July 2011, 09:39
Am I alone in finding much of Weismann's music indigestibly over-ripe...?
Obviously not, else he weren't among the unsung! ;)
He definitely has his own voice I think - which I appreciate. I was about 16 years old when I discovered him, the Sinfonietta giocosa, Fantastischer Reigen for StrQ, Horn Concerto, and he has remained my favourite German (unsung) composer since. I won't claim that he was a genius. Sometimes there is more workmanship than inspiration but even when he starts to meander he does it in a very personal way. ;)
Among his (artistic) failures I would rate the opera 'Die pfiffige Magd' (1938), one of the most successful operas during the Third Reich: some sort of rococo-pastiche of the worst kind I ever heard.
I have added another three works to the Julius Weismann folder.
I am very fond of the Rondo. Not in any way a great symphonic structure it is nevertheless tuneful, colourful and splendidly orchestrated.
The Sonatina concertante for cello has a very Sibelian second movement. Okay, it's Sibelius in his lighter vein. ;)
BTW, musicweb-international announces that some of the pieces I have uploaded will be released by cpo this year:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/German_Austrian_Symphonie/German_Austrian_Symphonies.htm (http://www.musicweb-international.com/German_Austrian_Symphonie/German_Austrian_Symphonies.htm)
(So there's hope for the Heinrich CD as well?)
For those interested, here is a fine publication on Weismann:
http://www.duisburg.de/micro/stadtbibliothek/medienangebote/musikbibliothek.php (http://www.duisburg.de/micro/stadtbibliothek/medienangebote/musikbibliothek.php)
(pdf at the bottom of the page. Sorry, it's in German)
It's the later stuff I find just meanders (although with some very beautiful passages, admittedly). However, I'm grateful to have the earlier VC1 - much more my type of stuff.
I just downloaded the VC 1. Nothing much stood out as easily memorable on first hearing, however, I could detect some things which I might be able to assimilate with further listening.
...and now that I am listening to VC1, I can appreciate what a most beautiful work it is. If you appreciate other late-Romantic VCs, such as those by Elgar, Reger, Weingartner, you will definitely like this one. The music is also vigorous in between those gorgeous flights of fantasy that are its hallmark. Seeing that the performers are Laurent Breuninger, with the Nordwestdeutsche Philhamonie under Alun Francis (virtually a cpo house team!), we might expect cpo to bring it out one day...
agreed... according to this very large page (http://www.musicweb-international.com/German_Austrian_Symphonie/German_Austrian_Symphonies.htm#weismann) (slow to load even on my machine ...) on Musicweb, that's exactly what they're planning to do with his sinfoniettas (which I thought was conjecture until I read that :) ), so maybe the violin concertos too...
OK, I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that Weismann's 1st VC is more than just an interesting rediscovery. Its beauty is great, its range of expression enormous and its themes memorable - all in all, a major addition to the violin repertoire, I would have thought...
though as to comparing and contrasting (if need be!) Weismann and Straesser, I suppose for my own part, since I'm a little more familiar with and slightly prefer Straesser's chamber music (especially that wonderful 4th string quartet published 1920 - SBB uploaded a to my ears fine performance (http://imslp.org/wiki/String_Quartet_No.4_in_E_minor,_Op.42_%28Straesser,_Ewald%29) of that to IMSLP and the ending is painfully sad again to my ears, though I have no standard of comparison as to whether another performance would be better, never having heard another)... makes me want to hear that cpo disc of Weismann's works in the form (arranged for larger ensemble), and wonder if anyone's recorded (for broadcast or otherwise; or heard in concert...) his violin sonata in F op28 (pub.1911) or the earlier string quartet "Phantastischer Reigen" (pub.1914) in F-sharp minor op.50 (scores at IMSLP, likewise some piano pieces), or other chamber works besides...
Thanks for the hint to the Straesser quartet!
I might upload the Phantastischer Reigen but a recording is currently available:
http://www.amazon.com/Chamber-Music-Weismann/dp/B00005S24S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1310509957&sr=8-4 (http://www.amazon.com/Chamber-Music-Weismann/dp/B00005S24S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1310509957&sr=8-4)
Otherwise I could offer:
Violin Sonata f sharp minor op.47 - nearly 30 minutes, not a favourite of mine
Kammermusik op.86 (flute, viola, piano) - 15 min., a wistful piece, not great 'chamber music' but probably written for music making at home
String Trio op.157a - 16 min., quite curious: a Sibelian 1st movement, a true Weismann-Scherzo (that's where he excelled!) and a Bachian Fugue
hrm. in my area that recording is out of print, but I never knew it existed anyway- thank you! will try to find out how long the duration of the opus 50 is in that recording, so I can add it as an estimate on the Workpage for that piece at imslp.org (we like that sort of thing. :) ) (ah! 16 minutes and a few seconds, according to AllMusic.com (http://www.allmusic.com/album/julius-weismann-chamber-music-piano-works-w94326).)
is there a good (not necessarily full or perfect, but good) Weismann-worklist somewheres? (Tried to start compiling some for Straesser and a few other composers recently, in an unscholarly - well, not sloppy and paying attention to the best evidence I could get, of course...- way. an interesting endeavor!)
Alan persuaded me to give Wiesmann's First Violin Concerto a try and I'm delighted that he did. It's a tremendous work: big-boned, full of incident, melodious and doesn't outstay its welcome, despite its length. What a shame that he didn't carry on in this vein...
...I agree, Mark - except that, I suppose, Weismann didn't want to repeat himself (more's the pity!)
late response- I have an unlabeled list of items - not sure what binds it (some of them are mentioned in the Jg 108 NZM - or was it just ZM that year? no, I think that change happened in the 1930s... - anyhow, some of them are mentioned for one reason or another in the Jg 108 NZM, and maybe this is too, but will have to go back to the library and see where and how and in what context - the Weismann opus 130 B-flat symphony is among them, may be the first I heard of him, when I compiled that list years ago (along with a whole page of works by other composers some of whom I've never seen mentioned before or since, or only extremely rarely, like Norbert Sprongl 1892-1983 whose quartet in F-sharp minor seems to have been somewhere in there :) Went through quite a few NZM issues at the library in those days to find out about this or that- ideally, hoping to hear such things eventually- that's (not that particular volume, but that general idea) also where I first heard of Richard Wetz... a few months later cpo came out with the CD of the first symphony (of course, the LP of the 3rd symphony came out years before, but still, I was sort of floored anyway.)
As I've said, <--- dork ). Maybe the op.130 symphony was premiered that year, or something- wonder who performed it? One these days going to have to go back to that 2-volume set (reprinted a few decades ago to preserve against deterioration, like most of the NZM issues from the founding of the magazine on- yay for that effort!) - and check. Apologies if this is worse than completely irrelevant :(
Hrm.
108. Jahrgang would be 1941, not 1924, and was actually, I think, not Neue Zeitschrift für Musik at all, or Zeitschrift für Musik, but rather the merged Nazi publication Musik im Kriege.
Grgle.
Were they even playing anything by Weismann in Nazi Germany? (He was Jewish, yes? Actually, I -think- he was, but...) Hrm. Have to double-check all that. Back when I have done. I don't have anything that specifically says that op.130 was mentioned -in Jg 108-, they just are on the same sheet of paper along with items that were so, so I assumed so. Hrm. Blast my poor note-taking... will try to collect information to make this stuff actually useful soon.
This is from German Wikipedia (not by me ;)):
From 1934 Julius Weismann was one of the honorary chairmen of the "Working Committee of Nazi composers" [? German: Arbeitskreis nationalsozialistischer Komponisten]. In 1935, he wrote on behalf of the National Socialist cultural community a new stage music for Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was to replace the composition of Mendelssohn, but failed to catch on in theaters. On 20 April 1936 Adolf Hitler appointed him professor. [4] This title he won again in 1950 by the Federal State Baden. In 1938 he wrote his most successful opera, "The Smart maid" [? German: Die Pfiffige Magd] after a text by Ludwig Holberg. In 1939 he was awarded an honorary citizen of Freiburg and in the same year with the Leipzig Johann Sebastian Bach Prize. In the same year he moved to Nussdorf near Überlingen (Lake Constance) and ended up teaching, but continued to compose.
Weismann was definitely NOT Jewish. Anyway, it would have been a strange kind of Nazi policy to commission a new 'Midsummer Night's Dream' score from a Jew to replace Mendelssohn's...
However, he wasn't a staunch Nazi (like his contemporaries Hermann Unger or Richard Trunk) either. A naive opportunist perhaps, what we call "blauäugig" (blue-eyed?)
As I said before, "Die Pfiffige Magd" was one of the most successful operas of the Nazi era - nevertheless one of his greatest artistic failures I think.
I just heard Weismann's Piano Concerto, and am extremely impressed. SUbsequently I visited IMSLP and obtained three scores, and am still more impressed. This is a real composer, shockingly good. I have no doubt he isn't better known because during his life he must have seemed one who is an epigone. Now we can hear him without prejudice, and I can say that this is a real voice. I must obtain everything I can; this is a composer to be performed.
I posted his 2nd and 3rd symphonys in the downloads long ago. Here is the link:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/n2no1jv2o0bck/Julius_Weismann_Symphonies (https://www.mediafire.com/folder/n2no1jv2o0bck/Julius_Weismann_Symphonies)
There are three piano concertos, at least two violin concertos, sinfoniettas, etc. Lots of them are on YouTube. Happy listening.
Jerry
Don't forget that wonderful 1st Violin Concerto!
I'm a late arrival at the banquet here but feel my appetite stirring. Unfortunately I can't find any UK or internet sources for scores or parts of his 11 string quartets. From the paucity of Worldcat entries I suspect only the first quartet Opus 14 and the Phantastische Reigen Opus 50 were published, although we have the strange release on CPO of the Opus 133 and 148 quartets in orchestral arrangements. Maybe I should try to contact Georg Mais the arranger?
Thank you Jerry, I did obtain those. This is quite a discovery.
Worldcat doesn't get you everything!!
ÖNB (http://search.obvsg.at/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=ONB) has the - published, nota bene! - parts of Weismann's quartet Op.133 (pub. by Peters), and a piano duet sonatine Op.142; also the violin/piano reduction of his concerto Op.98 (published in 1938 by Muller), and other works. Not many, but maybe some other libraries also not fully covered by Worldcat should be dragged in... :) (SBN Italy perhaps; Széchényi Budapest, e.g. ; NKP (?) Prague ... ; Weismann was none of these nationalities but just as Stenhammar was not American and yet his piano concerto score showed up at the Library of Congress, one goes by "who knows?"...)
(The Library of Congress also has Op.133 (https://lccn.loc.gov/72215883). No "unk" so I presume they really do have it and not just list it...)
I have not heard a 1999 early MDG CD of Weismann's piano music, nor was I even aware it existed. Hrm...
Yes, now I see Worldcat does list the parts of Op.133, held by the library of the University of North Carolina. The score of Op.14 is held by a number of libraries in the US including the Juilliard (hint...) while that of the Phantastische Reigen exists as a "downloadable musical score" at Iona College, New Rochelle NY. I guess that means they might let me have a copy so I'll make inquiries. With a date of 1914 it must be PD in the US although I suppose all Weismann's works will still be copyright in the UK.
Well fiddle me if the Phantastische Reigen score isn't also on imslp, uploaded by one Schissel who also provides the information that a 1979 recording was reissued on CD by Signum in 2001. The score has "Einstein" written in pencil at the top.
Has anyone had a look at the holdings of the Julius-Weismann-Archiv at the Stadtbibliothek Duisburg? They say on their website (http://www.duisburg.de/stadtbib/vorort/zentrale/102010100000371415.php) that they have all his manuscripts and printed music plus recordings and more.
The link to their catalogue (with all loanable media) on that site doesn't work, though, you'll need to go here (https://opac.stadtbibliothek.duisburg.de/opax/de/qsim.html.S)
They don't appear to have his symphonies or piano concerti.
The OPAC does not list everything they have, so it may be worth contacting them to see what they have that isn't listed.
Quote from: britishcomposer on Sunday 18 September 2011, 23:59
This is from German Wikipedia (not by me ;)):
From 1934 Julius Weismann was one of the honorary chairmen of the "Working Committee of Nazi composers" [? German: Arbeitskreis nationalsozialistischer Komponisten]. In 1935, he wrote on behalf of the National Socialist cultural community a new stage music for Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was to replace the composition of Mendelssohn, but failed to catch on in theaters. On 20 April 1936 Adolf Hitler appointed him professor. [4] This title he won again in 1950 by the Federal State Baden. In 1938 he wrote his most successful opera, "The Smart maid" [? German: Die Pfiffige Magd] after a text by Ludwig Holberg. In 1939 he was awarded an honorary citizen of Freiburg and in the same year with the Leipzig Johann Sebastian Bach Prize. In the same year he moved to Nussdorf near Überlingen (Lake Constance) and ended up teaching, but continued to compose.
Weismann was definitely NOT Jewish. Anyway, it would have been a strange kind of Nazi policy to commission a new 'Midsummer Night's Dream' score from a Jew to replace Mendelssohn's...
However, he wasn't a staunch Nazi (like his contemporaries Hermann Unger or Richard Trunk) either. A naive opportunist perhaps, what we call "blauäugig" (blue-eyed?)
As I said before, "Die Pfiffige Magd" was one of the most successful operas of the Nazi era - nevertheless one of his greatest artistic failures I think.
I am afraid I can't be this indulgent. He wrote the Midsummer Nights music in 1935. I don't think anybody forced him to do it. It is practically an endorsement of Nazi antisemitism. I understand people who didn't emigrate at the time: If you didn't have connections (like say Thomas Mann or Carl Zuckmayer) it was very hard to do--even with connections it was hard. To keep your head down and survive was the strategy of many in totalitarian systems (including Shostakovich). But his behavior goes way beyond that and can't be shrugged away as "blauäugig" (maybe not a happy term in this context anyway since blue eyes were a sign of Arian descent).
I am just taken aback that this thread can go on for one and a half pages before his Nazi past even comes up. Is the Second World War really that far in the past?
Frankly, though important - very important - this issue has been aired before at UC and we're not about to take another detour in that direction. Let's stick with the music, please.
Hear, hear!
Don't care; that was then, this is now, and the music I've heard is terrific.
I care, but the discussion's for another time and another place...
Surely this is a difficult thing. One thinks of the case of Wagner, a terrible man, nasty selfish and an virulent antisemite who claimed Jews, Mendelssohn included, could not write anything of value. Yet, up until the Nazis came, Jews throughout Germany and Austria were some of the greatest fans OF HIS MUSIC not of him.
Of course, after WWII this was an entirely different thing. When Barenboim insisted on performing Wagner in Israel, it led to riots. Ultimately, what one must face is that terrible people can produced wonderful art. In such cases, one can either divorce the man from his art or not. Not so easy to do and probably impossible if one personally experienced the tragedy of the Holocaust...
I don't think we should judge works of art by the moral stature of their creators; there would be a lot of difficulty if we applied such a principle consistently (Wagner has been mentioned, Picasso and Bertolt Brecht both have been attacked strongly (and justifiably) from a feminist perspective for example). I just believe that the Second World War is still enormously important and must not be forgotten.
Having said that: On the recommendation of Alan Howe I listened on youtube to the first violin concerto and found it not to my taste: not boring, far from incompetently composed. But imposing, loud, aggressive. The soloist is forced to force the tone almost throughout (probably by design; and this particular soloist keeps forcing it when does not need to, even in the cadenza). Maybe it is my penchant for chamber music that makes me dislike (not disrespect) a piece of "anti-chamber music" like this one.
Let's stick to the music, please, otherwise this thread's in danger of being prematurely curtailed.
Weismann's VC1 is a masterpiece in my view: a glorious outpouring of the late-romantic spirit and wonderfully written for the violin.
Just listened to Weismann's VC No 1. Twice. It is excellent, even moving. This is a real composer at work.
100% correct! Much as I love the Reger VC, there are now sufficient recordings of it on the market; so let's have a commercial release of the roughly contemporary Weismann VC1 - I imagine the broadcast is in a vault somewhere. How about it, cpo?
It's difficult to imagine this work not being a huge success with audiences. The problem here is the high bars one must jump to place such a work. Orchestra administration generally don't want to schedule much time to rehearse concertos, spend money on performance material if they can avoid it, and remain convinced that only hoary, overexposed (master)works make anyone come to concerts. Such works as Weismann need a soloist who will take it everywhere for a couple of years and convince other fiddlers to play it. This is what was done in the past, and what is done now with modern works like Adams and Glass, though in the latter two cases they still haven't really caught on, and I don't think they ever will. I certainly don't need to hear them ever again. (For a positive example, Dutilleux's is a work that will stand the test of time.) So for poor Weismann, likely the most we can hope for is further recordings and an occasional resuscitation.
Meanwhile, it will be good to locate all of the materials we can. One never knows when opportunity presents.
I agree. Weismann was clearly a talented composer. I like his music very much, from the recordings posted on YouTube. It seems to me he is an ideal candidate for resurrection by record companies as I feel sure there are many who would enjoy his compositions. The VC is indeed glorious, as are the PCs I have so far heard. I have not yet listened to any of his symphonies, but look forward to doing so.
I just heard the 2nd Symphony, and think it is likely a much better work than the performance suggests. Everything that is good about Weismann is there, but the performance seems severely underpowered and unsure of what points to make. The old performance needs pitch correction too.
Weismann's string quartets listed in the New Grove are as follows:
in F, Op.14, 1905
in c, Op.24, 1907
in d, Op.42, 1910
Fantastischer (sic) Reigen, Op.50, 1913
in Eb, Op.66, 1914
Op.84, 1922
in a, Op.85, 1918-22
in e, Op.102, 1929
in b, Fugue, 1931
1932
in a, Op.133, 1940
in G, Op.147, 1943-5
in a, Op.154, 1947
which in total makes 13. I expect the count of 11 quoted elsewhere excludes the WOO of 1931 and 1932. Cobbett in 1929, however lists only the first quartet in F and the Phantastische (sic) Reigen, with the comment that other chamber works are in manuscript.
I'm very tempted to inquire with the Julius-Weismann-Archiv whether they have scans of the unpublished pieces that they're prepared to release to the masses, but maybe I'll see how the Phantastischer Reigen play first. While I can't quite share the enthusiasm of some others for the VC and symphonies, Weismann was clearly a highly competent composer with some original ideas who doesn't deserve to be shunned on account of his political affiliations.