Franz Liszt's Transcendental Etude No. 4 in D minor, "Mazeppa", is the fourth Transcendental Etude, and is a highly difficult and virtuosic staple of the Romantic Era repertoire. It was inspired by Victor Hugo's dramatically morbid poem Mazeppa, in which a Ukrainian page named Mazeppa is strapped onto a horse and the horse is set free to gallop, resulting in the critical condition of both the horse and Mazeppa. At the end, Mazeppa is crowned king.
This etude has clearly defined sections, almost invariably separated by powerful progressions in double octaves. After a short ad libitum cadenza, the main theme is presented in octaves accompanied by a flurry of thirds in the center of the keyboard, giving the impression of a horse galloping in a cloud of dust. The theme returns immediately this time with a thinner texture. After a thunderous chromatic scale in alternating octaves arrives the quieter "Lo stesso tempo." in which the left hand plays a modified version of the theme while the right hand plays sweeping arpeggios in intervals up and down the keyboard. An "Il canto espressivo ed appassionato assai" (sung expressively and with much passion) immediately follows in which the main theme reappears, this time accompanied by repeated thirds in both hands in addition to a chromatic scale in the left.
The original theme makes a more recognizable return in the "Animato" yet this time much more discreet and quiet, alluding to the horse's waning physical condition. Yet the horse, in an unexpected burst of energy, gallops faster than he has ever before, as illustrated in the "Allegro Deciso," a mind-blowing pianistic feat in which a variation of the original theme is played at a breakneck tempo.
Finally, a grandiose finale represents Liszt's interpretation of the last verse of the poem: "il tombe, et se relève roi !" (he falls then rises a king).
Mazeppa along with Feux Follets is thought to be one of the most difficult of the twelve etudes , both musically and technically. It requires great speed and endurance, as well as a complete familiarity with the piano due to the abundance of jumps that span more than an octave. Thus, it is usually only attempted by sufficiently advanced players.
Liszt, as usual, indicates a rather odd fingering: the fast successive thirds in the beginning two sections should be played only with the index and fourth finger, alternating hands every two intervals. This fingering hinders speed, is more difficult than moving from the thumb and third finger for the first interval to the index and fourth for the second interval, and is therefore not used by every performer. However, this fingering is given for specific purposes; it makes the consecutive thirds sound more like a horse by preventing legato and expressive playing and builds strength in the second and fourth fingers. Note that the earlier versions were marked "Staccatissimo"; some later editions are marked "Sempre fortissimo e con strepito."
An earlier and more difficult version of this piece was published under the same name in 1840 (S.138). However, it was based on the fourth etude from Douze Grandes Etudes (S.137). Hence they are more similar to form than the last published version.