The Wiener Akademie was founded in 1985 by Martin Haselböck. The orchestra is internationally respected for its characteristic sound, 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.
The Wiener Akademie performs a fixed concert series at the Musikverein in Vienna; regularly appears at international music festivals and concert series, such as the Frankfurter Fest, Schleswig-Holstein Musik 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 Suntory Hall Tokyo, Izumi Hall Osaka, 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 including productions of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Il Sogno di Scipione, Il Re Pastore, Zaide and Le Nozze di Figaro, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Haydn's operas, Handel’s Il Trionfo di Tempo e del Disenganno. The Wiener Akademie has made around 30 recordings, some of which are unique such as works by Emperor Leopold I, Fux and Porpora and W.A. Mozart’s Church Sonatas . In 2008 they started a recording of Beethoven´s complete symphonies which will be finished next year.