 In 1905 Grainger began a close friendship with Karen Holten , a Danish music student who had been recommended to him as a piano pupil . She became an important confidante ; the relationship persisted for eight years , largely through correspondence . After her marriage in 1916 she and Grainger continued to correspond and occasionally meet until her death in 1953 . Grainger was briefly engaged in 1913 to another pupil , Margot Harrison , but the relationship foundered through a mixture of Rose 's over @-@ possessiveness and Grainger 's indecision . 
