Who is Theodor Leschetizky from The Great Pianists and what is their importance?

Theodor Leschetizky was a romantic Polish pianist born in 1830 who spent most of his life after 1878 in Vienna. He was known for his "Leschetizky system" that required pupils who needed more development to work with assistants playing preparatory drill for at least a year to meet his standards. Ironically his "system" was based on the individual and was not a fixed method. Like Liszt, Leschetizky inspired his students, but unlike Liszt he demonstrated how to produce the effects he demanded. Leschetizky identified three elements to pianist greatness that included being a child prodigy, of Slavic descent and Jewish, plus fat hands.