His analysis was that the composer "approached his work as a kind of sonic landscape painter [...] Cellist Zuill Bailey played throughout with a sensuous tone and technical finesse.
Detroit Free Press music writer Mark Stryker described the work as having a "more soulful emotional cast...a breadth of color, texture, dynamics and feeling in the virtuoso solo writing.
Donald Rosenberg of Gramophone wrote:Tales of Hemingway for cello and orchestra (2015) portrays four of the novelist’s stories in music of sweeping drama and poetry.
The solo writing calls for an artist of eloquent persuasion, and Zuill Bailey more than meets the score’s demands with playing that combines fervour and poetry.
The program notes in the musical score the composer explains that he created "a leitmotif [symbolizing the idea that] one can be healed by the power of nature through exploring isolated outdoor terrains.