Basic Classics is part of the German firm T-rax Productions, which also produces
Sensual Classics. The company does have a website (German language only),
from which only a little information may be gleaned.
What I can gather from my own shopping experience is that Basic Classics is a budget label, and has a catalogue of 50 CD's which is unlikely to be expanded. The CD's are numbered from TRA 001 to TRA 050, which one must admit is at least a sensible numbering system.
Starting at the end, as I am sometimes prone to do, I purchased TRA 050, which contains Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition and the Night on Bald Mountain overture, coupled with Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of Animals. The first work is performed by the Radio Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, while the remaining two works are performed by the Slowakische Philharmonie.
The recording is AAD.
Overall, the recording is what one might expect; very decent, but not great. If I were trying to stock a high school library with classical CD's, I very well might stock up on Basic Classics, as they do the job cheaply. If, on the other hand, I were buying for my personal collection, I'd be more apt to select something better, albeit pricier.
Having said that, Basic Classics' offering of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde received very high marks in Amazon, and I'm curious enough to buy it. Besides, at around $7, how can you really go wrong?
Of related interest:
© Daniel McAdam, 2005.
