"Trey Lee impressed not only with flawless technique but also with deep emotional involvement. From the very first notes, it was evident that he fully believed in the music he was performing. His interpretation ranged from lyrical, singing lines in the Adagio to sharper, more dramatic tones in the final Allegro. His legato playing was particularly sweet and charming. Lee avoided any pathos. Instead, the artist created a slightly nostalgic atmosphere. His interpretation was balanced, avoiding excess and exaggeration. Lee’s performance was marked by clear and distinct phrasing, always respecting the structure of the piece rather than imposing his ego. His playing combined precision with poetry."

By Jacek Kornak | full article

"This album is built around a concern for climate change, and constructed in three parts. First is the past, with arrangements for cello and piano of four Schubert songs corresponding to the seasons, eloquently performed. At the centre are Piazzolla’s Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (‘The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’) representing the present, with Lee directing the English Chamber Orchestra from the cello. His performance of ‘Autumn’ starts out vibrant, animated and spiky, before moving into lyrical playing of Piazzolla’s twisting line, with a yearning vibrato. Given their head, the ECO makes a convincing tango band. It provides a smoochy bed of sound in ‘Winter’, against which Lee rattles off some impressive pyrotechnics and unfolds some wistful melodic playing. Fittingly, ‘Spring’ is irrepressibly jaunty from everyone, rhythmically taut and compulsive, with some splendid portamentos. In ‘Summer’ the steady succession of thematic fragments leads into a warm, dreamy soliloquy from Lee, with a hectic acceleration to the finish."

"For the future there is Kirmo Lintinen’s Cello Concerto, written for Lee, a work specifically about climate change, which is explained in great detail in the booklet. He is an eclectic composer, drawing on classical, jazz and, in the second movement, pastiche Baroque. Lee gives it an impassioned and articulate performance. The recording is balanced and vivid."

By Tim Homfray | full article
The Strad Issue: August 2024

"We are dancing ever nearer to the edge of climate abyss – a justification for Trey Lee using his recording platform to raise awareness of impending catastrophe. All the material featured here is therefore connected to seasons, including the opening transcriptions of Schubert Lieder, where Lee brings an exquisite delivery of the melody with subtle piano accompaniment from Georgy Tchaidze. Using his own arrangements, he succeeds in creating an intoxicating intimacy that is in sharp contrast to the street music of Piazzolla’s Four Seasons which deploys an edgy tango style. Lee’s sharply idiomatic versions are perhaps the highlight of the album, the catchy and highly charged music sounding simply captivating thanks to sizzling performances and brilliant playing from the English Chamber Orchestra."

"The album focuses on three different eras, the contemporary element provided by Finnish composer Kirmo Lintinen’s Cello Concerto. Dedicated to Lee, it continues the theme of climate change. Lintinen’s style is accessible, with an enlarged tonal language, the opening Inizio Dystopia, a reflection of weather chaos. Here the cello solo line fights to rise above the darkly dissonant orchestral timbres, which offer hues of Messiaen and Mahler before the palette clears and the clarity of Baroque harmony restores equilibrium with a pastiche Gavotte. The more stable invention is meant to reflect the predictable seasons of that time. Timbral and technical diversity of the cello is highlighted in the Cadenza, before the work concludes with a slightly faux up-beat Finale. As always, Lee is consummately skilled in his delivery, and brings real intensity to the solo part. But Lintinen’s eclectic mix of musical styles is perhaps less convincing."

By Jo Talbot
BBC Music Magazine: August 2024