The Vienna Boys' Choir, or Wiener Sängerknaben in German (and also known as the Vienna Choir Boys, a more direct translation), is among the world's foremost and beloved children's choirs. It is also one of the oldest musical organizations anywhere, fulfilling traditional roles that date back centuries. The choir dates back to June or July of 1498 when Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I issued a decree specifying that boys' voices should be the singers of the court chapel at the Hofburg Palace; the boys perform at Sunday masses there to this day. The Vienna Boys' Choir groups perform about 300 concerts a year. Its repertory has modernized somewhat under Gerald Wirth, who became its director in 2001. In 2022, is was heard on the album Together. It returned the following year with a live recording of its 525th Anniversary Concert at the Musikverein in Vienna.