Strike scuttles opening night at Carnegie Hall; future performances up in the air

Carnegie Hall will issue daily updates as to whether future performances will occur as scheduled, it said in a statement.

Wednesday night's season-opening concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra, featuring violinist Joshua Bell and vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding, was cancelled after Local 1 of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees announced a strike against the prestigious venue.

"The strike is an attempt to force Carnegie Hall to agree to the union's demand for jurisdiction over the whole of Carnegie Hall's newly-created Education Wing in ways that would compromise Carnegie Hall's education mission," according to the Carnegie Hall website.

Carnegie Hall Corporation is spending "$230 million on its ongoing studio tower renovation, but they have chosen not to appropriately employ our members as we are similarly employed throughout the rest of Carnegie Hall," IATSE Local 1 President James J. Claffey countered in a statement. The union, Claffey continued, remains "willing and always available to bargain for a successful resolve."