Osver noted the intensive preparations for the oboist competition The Muri Competition 2026

The intensive preparation for the oboist competition The Muri Competition 2026 took two months. Fyodor Osver, the winner of the competition, the soloist of the St. Petersburg House of Music, told Izvestia about this on April 21.

According to the musician, he started thinking about participating in the competition back in August 2025, when the situation came out. Osver noted that he already had concerts planned at that time, and it was during the period of the event that there were free dates.

"In October and November, I recorded videos for the introductory round. There were two solo pieces and an andante by Mozart to be played, which were originally written for the flute. I recorded it for a long time, for three days, so that everything was accurate and high—quality," he shared.

The oboist stressed that he was very happy to pass, after which two months of intensive training followed. A total of 47 musicians took part in the full-time stage of the competition, and the program of the event was diverse: from baroque music of the 17th century to ultramodern works of the late 20th century with modern techniques.

"The most amazing thing is that these were pieces by Heinz Holliger — this is the legendary Swiss oboist, who brought up many generations of oboists. And he wrote a number of pieces, from which it was necessary to choose one and play it. And the most amazing thing was that Heinz Holliger himself was sitting in the audience and choosing the participant who would win his prize," Osver said.

He added that the atmosphere of the competition was very pleasant, and the musicians who took part in it were amazing.

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On the same day, Osver won first place at The Muri Competition 2026 in the Swiss city of Muri. Varvara Petrova took the second place, and Pedro Moreira took the third. In the finale, each of the musicians performed their own performance of Mozart's Concerto for Oboe in C Major, K. 314.

Osver's teacher Alexey Utkin, in turn, noted that the musician was preparing for the competition and performed independently, without the personal presence of his teacher at the competition. The teacher emphasized that Osver had never missed classes in recent years without a valid reason, and called the main qualities of the laureate diligence, talent and modesty.