[6] In May 1987 Marin conducted Berg's Wozzeck at the Vienna State Opera[7][8] and was hired by Claudio Abbado as his assistant conductor.
In February 1988 he made his official debut with Maria Stuarda (Gruberova, Baltsa, Araiza) and became resident conductor under Abbado's tenure as music director.
In Vienna he collaborated with some of the world's greatest singers: Luciano Pavarotti (Un ballo in maschera), José Carreras (Carmen), Thomas Hampson, Gundula Janowitz, Hermann Prey (Le nozze di Figaro), Ruggero Raimondi, Agnes Baltsa (L'italiana in Algeri), Hildegard Behrens (Wozzeck), Éva Marton (Elektra), Giuseppe Taddei (L'elisir d'amore).
[9] Starting with the academic year 2020/2021, Ion Marin has been appointed as Endowed Professor of the Claudio Abbado Chair for conducting by the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.
[28] In 2011, Marin created in Romania the Cantus Mundi project,[30][31] a social integration initiative based on choral singing and aiming to overcome all sorts of discrimination, by bringing together Romania's children, rich and poor, motion handicapped, ethnic minorities, blind, autistic and orphans.