Born on 6 January 1932 in Châlons-sur-Marne,[1] Yves Gérard studied philosophy at the Nancy-Université from 1949 to 1955.
From 1955 to 1956 he studied at the Sorbonne under composer, musicologist and theoretician Jacques Chailley.
At the Conservatoire de Paris he studied music history, musicology and aesthetics.
[2] He succeeded his teacher, Norbert Dufourcq, as professor of music history and musicology at the Conservatoire in 1975, and retained this post until he retired in 1997.
[2] Gérard is known especially for his scholarly works on the composers Luigi Boccherini and Camille Saint-Saëns.