Emerson Quartet inspires affection, which it needed Thursday night

The Emerson String Quartet holds a place of affection in the hearts of many American music lovers. "Affection" may be a mild term for decades of sold-out concerts and successful recordings, but it covers the group's sense of affable approachability. Rather than Grand Old European Men, the Emerson four have always been nice guys who brought an eager, often searing, energy to their performances. That affection translated, on Thursday night, into something approaching concern. I found myself rootin...