The American Collection

coming soon – out november 20

The multiple Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet brings together in a specially priced, 3-CD boxed set its three-part exploration of American music in The American Collection, comprising their American Portraits (2026), American Voices (2024), and Grammy-nominated American Stories (2022). Together, the recordings explore the breadth and diversity of the American experience through works spanning nearly a century of American music.

The collection moves across American history and geography, touching on civil rights and racial violence, Indigenous history, folk traditions, poverty, environmental advocacy, equality and the law, war, memory, and national identity.

American Stories, featuring New York Philharmonic principal clarinetist Anthony McGill, looks at American history and identity through events and experiences including the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, Native American rituals, California’s Eastern Sierra, and the life of Muhammad Ali. The album features works by Richard Danielpour, James Lee III, Benjamin J. Shirley, and Valerie Coleman, including three world-premiere recordings.

American Voices traces the influence of American folk music, spirituals, and popular culture through works by Dvořák, Florence Price, Louis Gruenberg, and James Lee III. The album includes the world-premiere recording of Lee’s Pitch In, which addresses global poverty and food insecurity and features renowned youth choir, Uniting Voices.

American Portraits, the third and final recording in the series, pairs landmarks of the American repertoire by Barber, George Walker, and George Crumb with newly commissioned works by Gabriela Lena Frank and Jennifer Higdon. Featuring narrations by NPR’s Nina Totenberg, the album explores justice, memory, environmental stewardship, resilience, and national identity.

Across the three recordings, Pacifica expands the traditional string quartet through collaborations incorporating clarinet, children’s choir, and spoken narration, while introducing several world-premiere recordings alongside established works of the American repertoire.

The American Collection reflects Pacifica’s longstanding commitment to American music and adventurous programming. The series has drawn praise for the Quartet’s “mastery of interpretation” (Strings) and “highly intelligent playing” (Fanfare).