“Art should exhilarate, and throw down the walls of circumstance on every side,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said. The string quartet that bears his name certainly exhilarated its audience at the Rose Theater, even as their survey of the chamber music of Johannes Brahms encountered some problems along the way.

The foursome (Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violins, Lawrence Dutton, viola and David Finckel, cello) decided at the last moment to change the order of the program, beginning not with the String Quartet No. 1, as listed in the accompanying booklet, but rather the No. 2. After a disembodied voice announced this alteration, the crowd erupted in conversation, leaving me wondering how many were discussing the relative merits and demerits of such a move, and at what level of erudition.

In any case, the A Minor is the most lyrical of the three quartets, but also the lightest in weight, in much the same manner as the A Major Piano Quartet is No.2 of the three and more pleasantly tuneful. With Mr. Setzer in the first chair, the group traversed this lovely piece competently enough, although some of the troubles that seem to have become endemic to this quartet were ever present.

What was most distressing was the intonation problem, exacerbated by the occasional drop-off of sound in the instruments carrying the melody of the moment, exposing some rather harsh inner voices. With this first violinist, the group exuded a decided squeakiness as well, which undercut their efforts at lyricism.

The realization of the C Minor quartet was much tighter with Mr. Drucker in the hot seat. The ensemble really did dig into this Sturm und Drang effort, emphasizing its dark, dramatic qualities. They may have been aided a bit by the reverberant acoustics of this new hall, where everyone sounds a bit smitten with vibrato. Their performances, at least over the past six or seven years, at such halls as Alice Tully and Zankel have sounded a little dry, but here their blending came off as more suitable to a Romantic evening. Still, this was at best an acceptable performance, lacking either the enthusiasm of a young group, as might be experienced at Mr. Finckel’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, or the burnished veneer of a veteran ensemble. The Emerson Quartet appears to dine out on reputation. What you hear is what you get. It is not enough.

There was improvement in the second half, as venerated pianist Gilbert Kalish led a propulsive Piano Quintet. Robert Schumann may have invented the form, but his protégé Brahms fashioned the most symphonic example in the literature. In this F Minor masterpiece, it is as if an entire orchestra is playing, so dense and complex is the sound and the composer’s method of development.

In toto, this was an exciting rendition with Mr. Kalish injecting a good deal of tension and gravitas into the mix. But again there were problems, with the Andante un poco adagio significantly out of tune. Also, a rather cavalier attitude toward crispness led to some unfortunate passages, particularly the false ending in the Allegro non troppo, which sounded rather measured and elongated rather than the more desirable taut and surprising. But the sold-out house appeared to love this performance. Perhaps the music itself is just so overwhelmingly great that it carried the day.

The Emerson String Quartet has a strong following and awards by the bucketful. But, in the spirit of their namesake, I have the self-reliance to tell you that their live performances are seldom transcendental.