被小提琴大師謝霖視為比法學派正統傳人的吉拉．普雷，1938 年出生於法國的指揮世家，父親即為著名小提琴家與指揮家卡斯頓．普雷，才華洋溢的他，五歲即展露天份，11 歲即進巴黎音樂院就讀，而次年就在眾評審一致通過下以小提琴演奏第一名畢業。同年即在父親指揮下與科隆管絃樂團（Orchestre Colonne）演出孟德爾頌、莫札特的協奏曲及拉羅的西班牙交響曲，大受好評之餘開始與當時巴黎的知名樂團如科隆管絃樂團、帕斯德魯管絃樂團（Concerts Pasdeloup）及法國國立管絃樂團合演、並開始於歐洲巡演。而 1956 年更以 18 歲弱冠之齡技壓群雄，贏得義大利熱亞納帕格尼尼小提琴大賽首獎，精湛的演出不但讓他獲得授權使用帕格尼尼名琴「加農炮」（Guarneri del Gesu）公開演出，更讓他展開國際性的演奏生涯。為了自我精進，普雷更以前輩大師如富蘭奇斯卡第、曼紐因、密爾斯坦及謝霖為典範，繼續鑽研，終於成就了如今為人所稱道的弓法、顫音表現、層次豐富而細緻的音色與質感。普雷的演奏精鍊優雅，表情細膩內斂，琴音清麗淡雅，技巧無懈可擊，力與美兼備，神韻頗有前輩大師提博之風，綜觀其藝術造詣，謝霖的影響可謂是舉足輕重。

普雷更是一位出色的教授，長期任教於法國巴黎國立高等音樂學院、巴黎音樂學院。從 2005 年 4 月開始，他受邀擔任東京藝術大學的教授，同時，他還擔任世界眾多比賽的評委，並於世界各地教授大師班。普雷不但身為當代比法學派的代表性人物，更是師澤廣被，提攜後進不遺餘力。他最為樂迷所津津樂道的除了比法學派的曲目外，還有巴哈、貝多芬與舒伯特等曲目。

Gérard Poulet started as a child prodigy. His father, the violinist and conductor Gaston Poulet had the privilege of giving the first performance of Debussy’s Sonata in 1917, with the author at the piano. Gérard entered the Conservatoire National Superieur in Paris at the age of eleven, and left the following two years with a unanimously awarded first prize. Aged eighteen, he carried off the first prize at the Paganini Competition in Genoa.

Numerous concerts were to follow, and his career developed rapidly worldwide. Meanwhile, he continued to benefit from the teaching of such masters as Zino Francescatti, Yehudi Menuhin, Nathan Milstein and especially Henryk Szeryng, who considered him his “spiritual heir”.

Gérard Poulet now plays regularly, both in seasons and on international tours, with the finest orchestras, including the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France, the National Orchestras of Strasbourg, Lille, Bordeaux, Lyon, the RAI Orchestra in Turin, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege, the Beijing Symphony and the Stuttgart Kammerorchester.

Every year he takes part in the most prestigious musical seasons, including those of Radio France, the Musee d’Orsay and the Theatre des Champs Elysees, and festivals such as Prades, Divonne, Sceaux, Besancon, Monte Carlo, Montreux and Carthage.

As well as enjoying an international career which regularly takes him to Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, China, Korea, Brazil, Argentina and Africa, Gérard Poulet is also one of the foremost teacher of our time.

After he taught for 25 years at the “Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris”, “Conservatoire National de Région de Paris” and the “Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris”, Gérard Poulet was a visiting professor at the “Tokyo University of Arts” (Tokyo Geidai) from April 2005 to March 2009.

Currently, he is a professor at the “Showa University of Music” in Japan from 2010.

Besides giving the master-classes all over the world, he also judges major international competitions.

He was decorated with the “Officier des Arts et Lettres” in 1995, and the “Officier National de Mérite” in 1999.