Bright & Black may be a radical concept for the Hong Kong classical music audience, but metal has more in common with classical music than many people may realise.  And many metalheads have acknowledged being influenced by composers such as Beethoven, whose music has been described as "the heavy metal of the early 19th century".

"I love how we've been able to experiment and bring a completely different type of scope and spectrum of sound when we play this music with orchestral instruments, but retain the feeling of hope and anguish, despair and a certain expression which is similar to Beethoven or Wagner. We play it with a metal intent and it becomes music which soothes the soul but also shakes the soul," Järvi says.

This visionary ensemble has always operated under the principle that music can serve as a force for good and Järvi says that despite the dark origins of Bright & Black, the music is intended to connect people with their feelings. "Whether you do this through a kind of Max Richter softness or this place of complete anguish, you realise, 'Wait a second, that's me'," the conductor says.

"That's incredible when it happens to a hall full of people. It's the most incredible feeling that I've ever experienced. And this is what happens at a Baltic Sea Philharmonic concert."