Florida Atlantic University Libraries

Celebrating Otto Bettmann: Reminiscences

How do you keep the music playing...?

You call to mind,
honor, cherish
...and do likewise.

What follows are recollections of the many people who came to know Dr. Bettmann during his tenure at FAU.

Otto was the world's most obsessed bookman but he would often observe that despite his longevity he had been able to read only a minute fraction of the world's texts. He would frequently remark ruefully that so little time was given to us all to study also in that richest library of all, the universe. George Steiner, a great scholar and polymath, greatly admired by Otto, has said, "An intellectual is simply a human being who has a pencil in his or her hand when reading a book." Otto, in his lifetime as a reader never left the margin of a book un-annotated, thereby improving with his wisdom and wit whatever book came within reach of his pencil and his insight.

The two greatest cultural influences in Otto's life were Goethe and Bach. They wait impatiently at their stations in eternity for his arrival, Bach preparing a most majestic welcoming cantata and Goethe composing a poem of rejoicing, both to be played and recited at the investiture of Otto at their side.

--George Meyerson

Dr. Bettmann's love of books--reading them and, above all, writing them--was something I found greatly inspiring. Same for his love for Bach, whose music touched him in ways that too many of today's audiences simply cannot fathom. Where they hear contrapuntal complexities, Dr. Bettmann heard sheer joy. He hated the stuffy image that Bach had been stuck with for so long. He wanted more people to experience the beauty, brilliance, humor and passion behind the notes. No doubt, he is savoring that music even now.

--Tim Smith

I still remember the phone call. The phone sort of graveled with his thick, melodic German accent, "Hellooo..., Mr. Sassi?" I answered quasi-cautiously, "Yes?" We went on to talk about politics, his current book, "Bettmann, The Pictureman," and a host of other philosophical ideas. The rest, as they say, is history. We went on to become wonderful friends. I came to appreciate Dr. Bettmann as a mentor, a friend, someone who genuinely cared about people.

I will never forget his dictum, "Peter," he would say with his somewhat long, vowel-friendly brogue, "The first order of business is order." This guiding principle in his life, I would come to understand, probably had its roots in his methodical German upbringing, and was continually shaped by his lifelong love affair with Johann Sebastian Bach who seemed to exemplify "imposing order on chaos" within his music.

--Peter Sassi

He taught me what it means to be a scholar. His life revealed that it is a singularly lonely pursuit along a road that must be traveled with much tenacity and a great deal of wit! All those whose lives Otto touched came out having their lives enriched, and that will include all of the future generations of his readers. What a tribute to mankind's universal spirit Otto has left us.

Otto opined in one of his writings, "Great men, like stars, light up the horizon of history." That quotation can best describe Dr. Otto L. Bettmann, himself.

--Ronald R. McCormick, Ed.D., FAU Research Associate (Retired)

I join in respectful tribute to our late friend and colleague, Dr. Otto Bettmann, whose spirit enriched us all. We celebrate a remarkable man who witnessed most of the twentieth century and left an enduring legacy--not only in the Bettmann Archive he created but in the exemplary life he lived. It was a privilege and a joy to know him.

He was the dutiful scholar par excellence, inspiring us by his discipline and commitment. His appreciation for books, art, and music--especially the music of Bach--made him a model renaissance man. His intellect was matched by his gentility, courtesy, wit, and wisdom.

--Faith Berry, Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara

He was my mentor, friend, and confidant. This world will never be the same without him. Those who knew and loved him will remember his strong presence (even at an advanced age), his impeccable demeanor, and his warm smile. He possessed a rare quality that I have only encountered among a few individuals in my lifetime, a quality I have labeled, "Smiling Eyes."

His passing marks the end of an era. There will never be another extraordinary person the likes of Dr. Otto Bettmann. May his life be an inspiration to us all that life is a great adventure. Let us seize the day with the zest and vigor that our dear Otto would.

--Ann Page, Interviewer, The Shoah Project

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He was a man of endearing, old world charm, whose reverence and enthusiasm for the music of J.S.B. stimulated even me--by no means as involved as he--in the compositions of one regarded by some as the greatest of all.

We deposited a large number of first editions of piano works by J.N. Hummel (1778-1837), a contemporary of Mozart and Beethoven, who produced well written music, if not always fired by the divine spark. Otto recognised Hummel's shortcomings as he zealously recorded, in his beautiful handwriting, the provenance of each work in the Catalogue. But I could never cause him to alter his pronunciation of Hummel (as in humming) to H-u-mmel (as in who). I am sure that Otto knew perfectly well how to pronounce the name, but I suspect that, by some convoluted reasoning, he felt justified in lodging a tactful, if oblique, protest in this manner. At his best, Hummel is very fine, but not in the same league as Johann Sebastian--and Otto's parameters were of the severest quality. Thus did Otto assimilate into his style and literary output all that is good in our common culture. We give thanks for all he did to enrich and civilise life on earth.

--Gillian & Richard Beattie Davis

---

Even while I had the privilege of knowing him and working with him--too short a time--I had a vivid sense that history was passing. His gentility, I thought, was of another era. He truly was "a gentleman and a scholar" and I will miss him. When I last spoke to Dr. Bettmann over the phone, only a few weeks [before his passing] in order to arrange an interview...he told me, "No, Anthony, I don't think that would be a good idea; not now, I'm tired. But I still have a few more things for you to do. We will talk again. I wish you well." Farewell Dr. Bettmann and Godspeed!

--Anthony F. Verdesca, Jr., library science student

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