The answer is Austrian domination. Disappointed with life under the Austrian mastery of Bohemia, he acknowledged an arrangement at Göteborg, Sweden, as conductor of the Philharmonic Society and held the post from 1856 to 1861. In 1863 Smetana settled forever in Prague; he opened another music school and progressed toward becoming conductor of the choral society Hlahol. In 1866 he was selected conductor of the recently settled Czech musical drama house in Prague, yet he surrendered in 1874 in light of sudden deafness.