Who is Jan Ladislav Dussek from The Great Pianists and what is their importance?

Jan Ladislav Dussek was the first pianist to perform in a public hall or auditorium for concerts. Earlier pianists performed only in salons. Dussek sat at the piano with his right side profile facing the audience and the piano's lid lifted up like a sounding board to throw sound to the audience. He was the first virtuoso to tour Europe and Russia as a celebrity, showman and pianist. Dussek used the piano pedals liberally and instructed their use in his written music. His pure legato was achieved by shifting his fingers on the key without striking "to hold the vibration and to tie one passage to another." Dussek was born in 1760 Bohemia and died in 1812, an alcoholic and bedridden because he got too fat to get around.