“Liszt - Transcendental Etude No. 4 - Mazeppa” is one of Liszt’s largest and most brutal concert etudes. The piece is built around a violent galloping rhythm, huge leaps, rapid broken octaves, hand-crossing patterns, cadenza-like passagework, and massive climactic writing. It has a clear dramatic shape: a stormy opening ride, a more lyrical middle theme, a return to heavier action, and a final heroic ending.

Measures 1–8 open the piece with a cadenza-like introduction. The score begins with Allegro, pedal, rising energy, and a written Cadenza ad libitum, giving the opening a wild, unstable character before the main body of the etude begins.

Measures 9–61 introduce the main Mazeppa texture. Liszt marks this section Allegro sempre fortissimo e con strepito, and the writing matches that direction: repeated galloping figures, violent accents, wide hand motion, and heavy octave-based patterns. The sound is meant to feel relentless, with the hands constantly driving forward instead of settling into a normal melody-and-accompaniment texture.

Measures 62–78 bring in a more melodic section, marked il canto marcato e vibrato assai. The music still keeps strong movement underneath, but the main line becomes more clearly shaped and song-like. This section gives the piece a brief sense of direction and lyricism without fully leaving the stormy character.

Measures 79–118 continue the lyrical middle idea in a broader form. The marking il canto espressivo ed appassionato assai gives this section a more passionate character, while the accompaniment remains active and full. The texture becomes more expansive, with a singing melody placed above thick Romantic piano writing.

Measures 119–134 prepare the return to the final drive. The music becomes more tense and unstable again, with faster gestures, sharper attacks, and a growing sense that the lyrical section is giving way to something more forceful.

Measures 135–end form the final large section, marked Allegro deciso. The writing returns to a much more aggressive character, with repeated accented figures, big leaps, heavy chordal attacks, and fast passagework across the keyboard. The final pages push the etude toward a triumphant close, turning the violent ride of the opening into a heroic ending.

Interesting fact: “Mazeppa” is based on the legend of Ivan Mazepa, who was supposedly tied to a wild horse and carried across the countryside. Liszt turns that story into music through the repeated galloping rhythms and violent keyboard writing, and the ending reflects the legend’s heroic side rather than ending in defeat.