Conductor: Martin Haselböck

The Wiener Akademie was founded in 1985 by Martin Haselböck. The orchestra is internationally respected for its unmistakably Austrian musicality, virtuosity and lively interpretation of a repertoire ranging from Baroque to early Romantic music played on period instruments.

Since its inception, the Wiener Akademie has focused on bringing to light lesser known works, such as La Deposizione dalla Croce by Fux, the Cäcilienode by Handel as arranged by Mozart and the Masonic Funeral Music by Mozart, alongside masterpieces of the standard repertoire, including the most important oratorios from the baroque era up to the symphonic repertoire of the Viennese classical period and early romanticism.

The Wiener Akademie performs a subscription concert series at the Musikverein in Vienna, concerts in the coming season will include Handel´s “Belshazzar” Mozart Arias and Bach´s “Christmas Oratorio”. 

The orchestra performs regularly at international music festivals such as the Frankfurter Fest, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Klangbogen, Carinthischer Sommer, Cuenca Festival, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Handel Festival Halle and many others. The orchestra has also appeared in major concert halls worldwide, including the Suntory Hall Tokyo, the Izumi Hall Osaka, in New York, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Philharmonie Köln, Palau de la Musica and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. 

Opera is an important facet of the work of the Wiener Akademie. A series of Mozart operas include productions of “Die Entführung aus dem Serail”, “Don Giovanni”, “Il Sogno di Scipione” and “Le Nozze di Figaro”, Gluck’s „Orfeo ed Euridice“ and Haydn operas. Opera was a special focus in 2004, with performances of Handel’s “Il Trionfo di Tempo e del Disenganno” at the Salzburg Festival Barock, Mozart’s “Il Sogno di Scipione” and “Il Re Pastore” for the Vienna Festival Klangbogen and “Zaide” at the Musikverein in Vienna in the following season. In Milan the Wiener Akademie performed the programme “hunting cantatas” from J.S.Bach and the St. John´s Passion. In Singapore they presented Bach´s B-Minor Mass and they opened the Mozartfestival in Würzburg in 2005.

In 2006 the Wiener Akademie presented the programm “dancing Mozart” –in the Musikverein Vienna and at various concert halls throughout Europe, Mozarts Singspiel “Zaide” (Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, CD recording November 06) and Mozarts “Die Schuldigkeit des Ersten Gebots” supplemented by Rudolf Jungwirt (text by Friedericke Mayröcker), as well as Mozart’s opera “Il re pastore” amongst others.
In March and April 2007 the Wiener Akademie together with Musica Angelica Baroque Orchester toured the USA and major venues within Europe with Bach’s St. Matthew‘s Passion.
Since 2007 the Wiener Akademie is the official orchestra of the Burgfestspiele Reinsberg, where in summer 2008 they performed Beethoven´s “Fidelio”. 2009 the Wiener Akademie will tour South America, performing Haydn’s “Stabat Mater” in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and other places and appear in several concerts in 2009 and 2010 with actor John Malkovich in “The Infernal Comedy”, concept by Martin Haselböck and director Michael Sturminger.

The Wiener Akademie has made more than 30 recordings including Fux: Missa Corporis Christi and a CD dedicated to works by Emperor Leopold I, (both being part of the series „Musica Imperialis“ realized with cpo, Germany) and a CD-Extra (audio, video and CD-ROM) of Haydn's "Creation" (PAN Vienna). Further recordings are dedicated to Nicola Porpora with the recently discovered azione sacra „Il Gedeone“ and W.A. Mozart’s Church Sonatas with organist Marie Claire Alain. Recent releases include Mauro Giuliani’s Concertos for Guitar and Orchestra with soloist Edoardo Catemario (on ARTS, re-released together with Haydn’s Symphonies 6 and 8 as BBC Music’s CD of the month at the beginning of this year) and Haydn’s Symphonies 6, 7 and 8 (ARTS). A special project in 2004 was the music of Strauss family as a soundtrack for a DVD (A night in Vienna) and Audio in collaboration with BBC and EuroArts. In 2005 the Wiener Akadamie recorded all Mozart´s sacral sonatas and Schubert´s Mass in A-flat Major (on the Capriccio label). The recording of Bruckner´s 1st. symphony received excellent reviews. In 2006 Mozart´s “Zaide” was recorded as well as Mozart´s church sonatas and Schubert´s Mass in A Major. In 2008 a recording project of Beethoven´s complete symphonies was started which will be concluded by 2011.