The word Classical has many meanings....as a general term, it refers to music that follows the Western musical tradition (from Europe)...as someone else mentioned...composers such as J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, etc...this tradition eventually came to America with composers such as Copland, Dvorak, etc. The term "Modern Classical" (or also called Contemporary Classical, New Music, and sometimes even Avant-Garde classical in certain instances) refers to music written by composers who are following that same Western tradition but in a new way...other styles can be incorporated. Picture what Beethoven would write if he was still alive. He would maybe use some of the same forms...but with so many other musical influences (jazz, rock, latin, etc) one can only imagine what his music would sound like now!
BTW - Debussy is NOT modern classical....he is impressionistic. Modern classical most often pertains to music written right after that...in the late 20's (Think Schoenberg and after...) There may be exceptions though. But composers like Prokofiev and Rachmaninov....although they wrote pieces well beyond that point...some of their works are considered "Romantic" not Modern because of the style.
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