Naxos American Classics, whose 200-CD recording project of American classical music is in its fifth year, has now embarked on another massive publishing effort. Plans for the "Milken Archive of American Jewish Music" call for 50 compact disks of music reflecting the American Jewish experience in the works of composers, regardless of their religion. Lowell Milken, chairman of Milken Family Foundation, announced recordings of "sacred and secular compositions, from art music for the concert hall to liturgical music for the synagogue to more popular idioms... expressing the rich variety of Jewish life in America through more than three centuries." So far, more than 600 works have been recorded, about 500 never before released commercially, producing 80 hours of music. The project ranges from opera scenes and choral works based on biblical narratives (such as the first recording of Kurt Weill's "The Eternal Road"), to performances on the Yiddish stage, to previously neglected works by Leonard Bernstein and Darius Milhaud. Income from the series will be channelled back into educational programs of Santa Monica's Milken Archive. Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask]